How Catholics Celebrate Pride: Chicago’s Cardinal Cupich Honors 35 Years of AGLO Ministry
Cardinal Blase Cupich at the Mass celebrating the Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach’s 35th anniversary
So much negative news regarding Pride seems to have arisen this year. For this final week of Pride Month, we are instead highlighting, in a series of posts titled “How Catholics Celebrate Pride,” all the good ways that the people of God are celebrating queerness and advocating for equality. Some of the content will be highly visible news events. Other bits will be the more local, somewhat quieter, but no less significant actions of pro-LGBTQ+ Catholics in their parishes, schools, and communities. This is the second post. You can find the first post in this series by clicking here.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago recently celebrated Mass to honor the 35th anniversary of the Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach ministry (AGLO), which for those three-plus decades has hosted welcoming Masses each week and offers a supportive community. Book Club Chicago reported:
“As the bells rang at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and the first notes of the organ swelled, gay and lesbian churchgoers held hands, wore rainbow colors and sang hymns so loudly that they drowned out about 20 anti-LGBTQ+ protesters chanting outside the church doors at 708 W. Belmont Ave. . .
“‘God has brought us together here as a community. That’s why this community is so important. It’s a reflection of God and of the desire of God to have his people come together and support each other,’ Cupich said. . .
“‘Throughout the gospels, Jesus sees individuals whose time hasn’t come yet. But maybe in a moment of grace, they see how much they’re loved by God,’ Cupich said.”
Attendees at the Mass, held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, highlighted both the good AGLO has done and the significance of Cupich’s presence at the Mass. Raquel Welch, an AGLO member, described the Mass as “wonderful and moving.” Another attendee, Ed, no last name given, commented:
“‘You could hear the strength of every song and prayer. It was overwhelming. . .There’s something freeing about going to a Mass with other gay and lesbian people. I can bring my whole self before God. For the cardinal to be here for this special event, it means a lot to the community.'”
A statement from the Archdiocese of Chicago commended AGLO’s work, explaining:
“[The ministry] made much progress in bringing the Good News of Jesus to Catholics and creating a welcoming faith community for our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters.
“We live in a time when stigmatizing or excluding groups of people has become too common and even normalized. As Catholics, we believe everyone is created in the likeness and image of God and should be respected and treated with kindness and gentleness.”
AGLO began in 1971 when a Catholic woman, Mary Houlihan, started holding welcoming Masses in her home. It was later formalized with the support of a former archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, known for his efforts to help Catholics find common ground across divides. To learn more about AGLO’s history, click here.
Congratulations to Chicago’s Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach for its members’ many years of faithful, affirming work!
—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, June 27, 2023
FINALLY a bishop in the footsteps of Jesus! Thank you/
Not a mention of Dignity Chicago?
From the Dignity Chicago website:
Dignity/Chicago was formed in January of 1972, the fourth Dignity chapter in the nation, approximately one year after Ms. Mary Houlihan, a member of the Legion of Mary, began a home Mass for the gay and lesbian community under the Legion’s aegis. Following Dignity’s formation, the chapter was asked to assume sponsorship of this Mass. Dignity then secured St. Sebastian Church for a weekly Sunday evening Mass which continued until 1988.
The 1970’s were an active time for the chapter. It played host to the national convention of DignityUSA in 1977, was a charter member of Call to Action, an umbrella organization for progressive Catholic groups, and co-sponsored the Orange Ball, a Chicago benefit to raise funds to combat Anita Bryant-backed anti-gay referendums around the country.
The 1980’s were challenging for Dignity/Chicago as the chapter grew to over 150 members. In May of 1988, after sixteen years of ministry, the chapter membership voted to remove its ministry from St. Sebastian Church and all church property rather than submit to a demand from Cardinal Joseph Bernardin to withdraw Dignity’s public statement affirming homosexuality which said “we believe that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons can express their sexuality in a manner that is consonant with Christ’s teaching. We believe that we can express our sexuality physically, in a unitive manner that is loving, life-giving and life-affirming.” After leaving St. Sebastian’s Dignity/Chicago began meeting in a series of welcoming Protestant churches before settling at Broadway United Methodist in 1992.
Thanks, Brian! The post was about AGLO’s ministry and anniversary. In 2012, when Dignity/Chicago celebrated its 50th anniversary, we focused a post just on them: https://www.newwaysministry.org/2012/10/29/dignitychicago-celebrates-four-decades-of-ministry/
The Chicago area is blessed with many Catholic LGBTQ parish ministries, too, besides the wider ministries of AGLO and Dignity/Chicago. Folks can learn about these parish ministries on New Ways Ministry’s online list of LGBTQ+ Friendly parishes by clicking here.
Dignity Chicago is more than capable of speaking for themselves. I’m adding my two cents because your article discusses the founding of AGLO without mentioning AGLO’s alignment with the Church’s anti-LGBTQIA+ teachings, and Dignity Chicago’s opposition to them.
I was there when AGLO was started. I began attending the Dignity Mass in the fall of 1986 at St. Sabastian Church. It was a joy to celebrate my coming out there. I loved the liturgy and the music. It was home. I continued to stay with Dignity through this catholic exile. I actually wrote to Cardinal Bernardin at the time AGLO was started and Dignity was thrown out of St. Sabastian Church because Dignity issued a statement that said same sex attraction could be integrated in a wholelistic way. I still have Cardinal Bernardin’s letter. This was a disappointment. I think I understand the cardinal’s compassion, but I also have to realized the pressure of the official church in those days that even kept him from responding in a more understanding manner.