Outreach 2020 Conference to Bring Together LGBTQ Catholics and Allies This June

Fr. James Martin, SJ, has announced registration is now open for a conference on Catholic LGBTQ pastoral ministry to be held at Fordham University this summer.

Outreach 2020, as the conference is known, will feature a wide range of speakers from longtime advocates to bishops to younger pastoral workers. It will take place June 18-20, 2020 at Fordham University, New York City.

Martin shared with Bondings 2.0 the conference’s aim, saying:

“We’re gathering together those who minister with LGBT Catholics, in order to build community, share best practices, and worship our Creator. Outreach 2020 will focus on pastoral issues in this important ministry with Catholics who often feel on the margins in their own church.”

Martin posted more about presenters on Facebook. Keynote presenters include:

Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SL, co-founder of New Ways Ministry;
Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv, of Lexington, who has been outspoken in support of LGBTQ people, including offering scriptural reflections at New Ways Ministry’s 2017 National Symposium and tweeting positively about Pride;
Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, the former head of the Dominicans who has a pro-LGBTQ record since the 1990s, including support for gay priests and for the inclusion of people living with HIV/AIDS;
Fr. Bryan Massingale, a gay priest and theologian;
Sivagami Subbaraman, executive director of Georgetown University’s groundbreaking LGBTQ Resource Center.

There will also be panel discussions as part of the weekend conference on issues such as:

Best Practices in Catholic Parishes;
Best Practices in Catholic High Schools;
Best Practices in Catholic Universities;
Employment in Catholic Institutions;
Family Questions;
A Spirituality for LGBT Catholics;
Theological Insights for LGBT Catholics;
Race, Ethnicity and Intersectionality;
Media Training;
Transgender Questions;
Mental Health Questions.

In addition, there will be several opportunities for prayer with music led by famed liturgical composer David Haas, who last June released a song for Pride Month about being “wonderfully made.”

The conference promises to be a fruitful moment for LGBTQ Catholics, their loved ones, pastoral workers, church leaders, and allies to build on the successes of previous generations in advancing inclusion and equality in the Catholic Church. For more information and to register, click here.

—Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, March 9, 2020