A U.S. group, which campaigns for the full inclusion of LGBT people in the church, has called on Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, president of the World Meeting of Families 2018, and other Irish Catholic leaders, to restore the image of a same-sex couple to the booklet, “Amoris: Let’s talk Family! […]
Equally Blessed in the News
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For John Freml, a devout Catholic who is also gay, abandoning his faith is not an option. “If everybody who thought like me were to leave the church, then there would be nobody left in the church for the youth who are dealing with the same things that I had […]
In December, while the rest of the country was debating tax reform and net neutrality, four Catholic bishops and 16 other conservative religious leaders issued an “open letter” about transgender issues, firing a shot in what has become the next major culture war issue after same-sex marriage. Not surprisingly, progressive […]
Twenty LGBTQI Catholics and their family members traveled to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia from September 20-25, 2015, as part of the Equally Blessed Pilgrimage. Here is a sampling of some of the coverage we’ve received. LGBT Catholic Coalition Prepares For Papal Visit In Philadelphia Francesco is a […]
Last week, news broke of Equally Blessed’s eviction from St. John the Evangelist in Philadelphia, a Catholic parish that had opened its door to us during the World Meeting of Families. Since then, a variety of different news outlets have covered the story. A summary of that coverage appears here: Philadelphia […]
Equally Blessed World Meeting of Families pilgrims Lui Francesco, Nicole Santamaria and Marianne Duddy-Burke were featured in today’s New York Times article, “Gay and Transgender Catholics Urge Pope Francis to Take a Stand”: Lui Akira Francesco Matsuo said he was standing in line for communion one Sunday at his Roman Catholic […]
The Equally Blessed pilgrimage to World Meeting of Families was featured in The Huffington Post about the ways Pope Francis’ statements on parenting alienated LGBTQ parents. Frank DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry and Marianne Duddy-Burke of DignityUSA (both members of the Equally Blessed coalition) were quoted in the article extensively. Marianne and her family are Equally […]
Below is an excerpt from an article by the Courier-Post which features Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director of DignityUSA, talking about why her family chose to participate in Equally Blessed's pilgrimage to World Meeting of Families. Learn more about Equally Blessed's World Meeting of Families pilgrimage.
March 23, 2015– Marianne Duddy-Burke, a Boston woman who leads DignityUSA, a group of gay Catholics, said she's hoping for a symbolic gesture from Francis.
"As a gay family, we're going (to the World Meeting) to talk about our experiences," said the married mother of two. "We want them to know what it's like to try to live an authentically faithful life as a Catholic family with two moms."
Below is an excerpt from an article by Philadelphia Inquirer on the important opportunity for LGBTQ Catholics to participate in Pope Francis' World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. Read about Equally Blessed's commitment to send 14 LGBTQ Catholics and their family members to World Meeting of Families.
March 24, 2015– Otto and Lassiter said a local Dignity chapter could be an "organizing tool" for the group. Dignity was founded in 1969 and has a membership of about 6,000 spread across 35 chapters.
Yet Dignity has "not been invited to participate" in the World Meeting, executive director Marianne Duddy-Burke said from the organization's Boston headquarters.
From the National Catholic Reporter: November 10, 2014: Equally Blessed, a coalition of four U.S. Catholic organizations focused on equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, said Oct. 18 that the synod reflected that some bishops recognize the Vatican must change its language toward gay people. "This month's Synod on […]