Sign the Statement of Global Catholic Solidarity with Orlando!

The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, an international coalition of Catholic LGBT people, allies, and organizations,  has started a public campaign for Catholics around the world to express solidarity with LGBTQI people in the United States, in the wake of the Orlando shooting at a gay nightclub.

The campaign consists of a sign-on statement entitled “Rainbow Catholics express sorrow and solidarity with the LGBTQI community in the US.”

The statement, which can be found and signed here, begins:

“We are not far from the pain and sense of incomprehension, that overwhelm us all as LGBTQI people, in these difficult days of grief and a search for hope. For us, LGBTQI Catholics and our families, it is difficult to reflect on and to rationalize an event that took so many lives in Orlando. This situation reminds us of our human limitations and the search for God´s mercy in such moments in which anger and sadness often are our natural and honest reactions.”

Catholic individuals and organizations around the globe are being asked to sign the statement, and also to share it with other individuals and organizations via social media, email, or other means.  The deadline for signing is July 31, 2016.

Please take a moment to sign the statement now.

The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics was started in October 2014 in Rome, Italy, during the first synod on the family.  It launched publicly in October 2015 with its inaugural assembly, also held in Rome.  New Ways Ministry participated in both events, and our Executive Director Francis DeBernardo serves on the steering committee of the coalition.

Please don’t delay in signing and sharing this important statement in response to Orlando.

–Francis DeBernardo and Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry