New Orleans Archbishop Appointment Is Another LGBTQ-Friendly Prelate

Yesterday, Bondings 2.0 reported on the appointment of a new archbishop in Denver, one whose record shows that he in considerably more positive towards LGBTQ+ people than the departing archbishop was.  The appointment of Archbishops-elect James Golka was a good omen that Pope Leo XIV may be appointing LGBTQ-friendly bishops to U.S. dioceses.

Then-Bishop Checchio with Pope Francis

Today, we report similar good news.  In February, Pope Leo appointed Bishop James Checchio as leader of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, replacing the departing Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Unlike the Denver example, the new archbishop is NOT replacing a leader with an anti-LGBTQ+ record. Archbishop Aymond made some very positive statements about LGBTQ+ issues while he served in New Orleans. Perhaps most dramatically, he issued a public apology to the queer community for the insensitivity of his predecessoe, Archbishop Philip Hannan, for not issuing a statement of support when 32 people died in a fire set by arson in a New Orleans gay nightclub in 1973. The event is considered the largest mass murder of gay people in U.S. history.

The new Archbishop Checchio, who led the Metuchen Diocese in New Jersey, does not have any similar dramatic statements in his past, but there are indications that he will be supportive of LGBTQ+ ministry in his new position. Before “synodality” became a buzzword in Catholic circles, and before LGBTQ+ issues became a topic of wider discussion at the Vatican’s Synodality meetings, the Metuchen Diocese held a local synod which raised up the need for more effective outreach to the LGBTQ+ community as a priority.  In this geographically small diocese of 75 parishes, at least two are known to be LGBTQ-friendly: Sacred Heart Parish, South Plainfield; St. Joseph Parish, Hillsborough.  That may not seem like much in absolute numbers, but proportionally, it is very good.

While leading Metuchen, then-Bishop Checchio showed his support for LGBTQ+ ministry by attending by attending an LGBTQ+ ministry event at Sacred Heart Parish in 2016, a few months after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando when five people were killed 49 people and injured 58–an event which traumatized the LGBTQ+ community around the world. Speaking to a newspaper in 2017, David Harvie, one of the leaders of Sacred Heart’s ministry said of the bishop:

“He stayed and talked to every person — made a point to go around to get to know them. In terms of times of healing, that meant a lot to a lot of our members.”

In a statement released when Checchio was appointed to New Orleans, the Diocese of Metuchen said that a main priority of the bishop’s ministry was to visit parishes and listen to parishioners.  If he continues this priority in New Orleans, and if LGBTQ+ people are among those he listens to, Archbishop Checchio will prove a worthy successor to Archbishop Amyond.

Both Golka and Checchio were made bishops by Pope Francis, so it is good to see that Francis appointees, who have generally been LGBTQ-friendly, are moving up in the ranks of the church’s hierarchy.  What I think is perhaps even more remarkable is that in previous pontificates being LGBTQ-friendly had been a black mark against being appointed a bishop, these two appoints show that in today’s church, LGBTQ-friendliness is not only not a detriment, but perhaps is even a positive trait.

—Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry, March 4, 2026