Cardinal Calls for New Approach to Pastoral Ministry at LGBTQ+ Conference

“Too often both in magisterial statements and on the popular level, sexual sins have been condemned with an ardor that effectively places them in the eyes of many believers as the core moral obligation of Christians. This is utterly false to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

That was the message Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of of Washington, DC, shared in a profound homily supporting  LGBTQ+ Catholics at the semi-annual Outreach conference, held at Georgetown University at the end of June. 

Cardinal McElroy preaches at the Outreach conference, as Father James Martin listens.

“In a church which has so frequently wounded the LGBT community through judgmentalism and exclusion, we should find great hope in two important developments that have taken place during the pontificate of Pope Leo which constitute rich seeds for the unfolding of the Gospel in the years to come,” McElroy said, as reported by The National Catholic Reporter. 

McElroy identified those developments as Pope Leo’s recent statement de-emphasizing  a pastoral focus on sexual morality; and a Vatican’s Synod Study Group 9 report’s recommendation for more pastoral care toward LGBTQ+ Catholics. 

McElroy preached some guidelines for pastoral care:

“Pastoral practice is not the understanding of how to apply an already formed and often reified set of principles to concrete situations. It proceeds from the conviction that the concrete situations in which people find themselves are constitutive dimensions of how doctrine should be formed in the light of the kerygma.”

Outreach is a Catholic LGBTQ+  ministry founded by Father James Martin, SJ, to boost inclusion within the Church. The ministry is part of the Jesuits’ America Media apostolate.The conference brought together over 450 individuals ranging from clergy to educators, family members, artists, and scholars to LGBTQ+ issues in light of theology, lived experiences, parish ministry and the Bible,

The cardinal cited  Jesus’ own patterns as a a model for pastoral outreach to LGBTQ+ people:

“First the Lord embraced those who had come to him for help. Then, he assisted them with the issue that was weighing them down. Only then did he call them to reform. This pattern must consistently be reflected in the church’s pastoral practice and in our own pastoral outreach to those whom we encounter in our lives within the context of faith.”

Other prominent speakers at the conference included Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, whose keynote address called out the Church for its moments of not living up to the values it holds high. However, she urged parishioners to find hope, and work toward inclusivity and the common good:

“When you have moments of doubt, discouragement or disappointment in our Church, I hope that you will find and focus on your own sources of inspiration and encouragement, your own examples of moral heroism,” Robinson said. “It is never too late to become the people we are meant to be — and it is never too late to be generous, to serve, to cultivate a disposition of other-centeredness and to work for the common good.”

Greg Krajewski, a filmmaker and incoming pastoral ministries student at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union, opened the panel “LGBTQ Catholics and Chastity: Diverse Lived Experiences” with a reference to two paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church – No. 2337 and No. 2394  which focus on chastity and sexuality.

“The question is, if we are called to fully integrate our sexualities with our spiritual and physical selves, what does that look like?” Krajewski asked.

Throughout the course of the conference, leaders from various parishes and ministries called on others to keep doing the work they are doing and to hold church leaders accountable. 

Bill Chapman of Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, suggested not giving up and taking an LGBTQ+ ministry elsewhere if a certain parish is resistant to it. Others like Joseph Schneider, leader of Affirmed Community at St. Clement Parish in Chicago highlighted his “say-do” ratio to ensure smaller ministries be realistic with what they can and cannot achieve. 

All of these sentiments echoed the welcome message from Conor J. Reidy, the new executive director of Outreach, who simply stated ‘do not be afraid,’ and affirmed Outreach’s mission to “foster a Church where all people know they belong.”

—Matthew Gorczyca, New Ways Ministry, July 6, 2026

Further reading:

OSV News: “Outreach 2026 conference highlights LGBTQ discipleship, community, ministry efforts.”

Check out Outreach’s website where they are publishing texts from other presentations at the conference.