Denver’s New Archbishop Needs to Reach Out to LGBTQ+ People

Archbishop-elect James Golka

Pope Leo XIV recently appointed a new archbishop for the Archdiocese of Denver.  From the news accounts that I’ve read, Archbishop-elect James Golka, who currently leads the neighboring Colorado Springs Diocese, sounds like he has potential to heal the many LGBTQ-supportive Catholics who were alienated from the church because of the many anti-gay statements made by the outgoing leader of the Denver archdiocese, Archbishop Samuel Aquila.

The Colorado Times Recorder, a newspaper which describes itself as having a “progressive orientation,” was pleased with the announcement about the new appointment. Golka “appears to embrace the more moderate politics that Francis and Leo have promoted for the church,” the paper said.

Much healing is needed in the Archdiocese of Denver because Aquila was extremely strident against LGBTQ+ equality issues. One example the paper offered was Aquila’s welcoming of a conversion therapy workshop:

“In 2019, Aquila spearheaded a program among his churches to “heal” LGBTQ people. As part of the effort, he brought Andrew Comiskey to Denver for training on, in Camiskey’s words, how to ‘heal homosexuals’ and other ‘sexually broken’ people. As part of the church-based programs, ‘healers’ would be identified to set up groups in churches with the goal of leading LGBTQ people to a life of ‘mature heterosexuality.'”

Archbishop Samuel Aquila

Equally, or perhaps more offensive, was Aquila’s 2022 statement after five queer people were killed and 25 injured by a shooter at Club Q, a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub. Instead of reaching out with compassion, Aquila went on the defensive with a statement that shows how little he understood the LGBTQ+ community:

“Our critics charge that the Catholic Church is discriminating against those who identify as gay or transgender, but it isn’t discriminatory to tell someone you think his beliefs don’t conform to nature — it’s an act of charity.”

The Colorado Times Recorder summarized the LGBTQ+ community’s opinion of Aquila:

“When it came to LGBTQ people, his hateful words rose above his statements of compassion.”

Unfortunately, some church leaders are like Aquila in that their attempts at compassion ring empty when their other statements or actions appear to be so negative.

Golka looks like he will be taking a different direction than Aquila did. After the Club Q shooting his statement included the following:

“The recent shooting and killing is especially troubling as it appeared to target a specific part of our community. The
shooter appeared to target members of the LGBTQ community. Anytime specific members of the population are targeted for violence, we should all be concerned. As Christians and Catholics, we believe in the intrinsic dignity and value of all human life. We commit ourselves to protecting and defending that human life.”

“We extend our deepest sympathies and prayers for the victims, their families, and friends.”

When the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued Fiducia Supplicans, which allowed priests to bless members of same-gender couples, Golka responded by noting that the church’s teaching on marriage hadn’t changed and that blessings were not the same as marriage. He added, more positively: