Religious Life – Women

The Womanjourney Weavings Program is a program of support and education for lesbian sisters, congregational leaders, and formation/vocation ministers. Through conferences, retreats, a newsletter, and a listserv, the Womanjourney project networks lesbian sisters and their congregational leaders.

Love Tenderly: Sacred Stories of Lesbian and Queer Religious. Grace Surdovel IHM (ed.), Mt. Rainier, New Ways Ministry, 2021.

Out of Silence God Has Called Me: A Lesbian Religious Tells Her Story: A booklet by Sister Janet Rozzano, RSM. Click here to download a PDF.

Homosexuality in the Priesthood and Religious Life, ed. Jeannine Gramick (New York: Crossroad, 1989)

Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by Judith Brown (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986)

Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, ed. Rosemary Keefe Curb and Nancy Manahan (Naiad Press, 1985; updated edition by Spinsters Ink, 2013)

Always Our Sisters – Kate Reid, ASC

An Invitation to Continue Dialogue Among Lesbian Religious – Jeannine Gramick, SL

Lesbian Nuns: Gift to the Church – Jeannine Gramick, SL

Lesbian Nuns: Identity, Affirmation, and Gender Differences – Jeannine Gramick, SSND

Lesbian Sisters in Poland, the U.S., and Anywhere Else – Jeannine Gramick, SL

Myths About Lesbian Religious – Sandy Yost, CSJ

Our Lesbian Sisters: Mentors on the Journey to Wholeness – Mary Ann Zollmann, BVM

Patient Weavers – Sister Mary Louise St. John, OSB

Speaking My Truth – Eileen Brady, RSM

The Lost Coin – Sister Mary

Womanjourney Weavings is a newsletter for and about lesbian women religious. To download a sample copy, please click here.

2016   Our Call to Personal and Community Growth as Sexual Beings

2015   Fear & Faith, Risk & Trust

2014   Courage, Commitment, and Change

2011   Courage and Community – Coming Out and Coming Home

2010   Listening & Learning, Networking & Responding

2008   Lesbian Sisters: Understanding, Education, and Action

2007   Lesbian Religious: Community, Conversations, and Coming Out

2006   Overcoming Heterosexism and Homophobia: Supporting our Lesbian Sisters

2005   Lesbian Religious: Continuing the Conversation

Religion New Service, “Catholic LGBTQ nuns are speaking up again, and this time they have no intention of going away” (January 26, 2021)

Global Sisters Report, “In ‘Love Tenderly,’ LGBTQ sisters share joys and struggles of self-discovery” (December 10, 2020)

Global Sisters Report, “New Ways Ministry programs support LGBTQ sisters, educate congregation leaders” (October 5, 2020)

[email protected] University, “New Book Explores the Stories of Lesbian and Queer Sisters.” (June 30, 2021)

Global Sisters Report, “Q&A with Sr. Grace Surdovel about ongoing conversation on sexuality and religious life.” (June 29, 2021)

The Jersey Journal, “Talking about Sexuality in the Church Shouldn’t Be Taboo.” (April 29, 2021)

NJ.com, “Talking about Sexuality in the Church Shouldn’t Be Taboo.” (April 25, 2021)

NJ. com, “Lesbian nuns tell their stories in new book that reflects changing times.” (February 14, 2021)

Religion News Service, “Catholic LGBTQ nuns are speaking up again, and this time they have no intention of going away” (January 26, 2021)

Pink News, “Nun shares powerful journey of overcoming fear to embrace being gay: ‘God has called me to celebrate.’” (January 26, 2021)

Global Sisters Report, “In ‘Love Tenderly,’ LGBTQ sisters share joys and struggles of self-discovery” (December 10, 2020)

Global Sisters Report, “New Ways Ministry programs support LGBTQ sisters, educate congregation leaders” (October 5, 2020)

Angela Howard-McParland, “Editor of Book on Lesbian/Queer Nuns Reflects on Coming Out and Authenticity,” (July 31, 2021)

Julie Brown, RSM, “The Call – Sisters of Mercy,” (June 21, 2021). Sister Julie Brown says, “I am ‘proud’ to be who I am, and I want those who feel alone with their own identities to know they are not alone.”

Janet Rozzano, RSM, “Proud and Prophetic in a Mercy Context,” (June 7, 2021)

Diane Rapozo, “Jesus’ Baptism Reveals a Rainbow Christ” (January 10, 2021)

Susan Becker, “Celebrating God’s Outrageous Openheartedness on Epiphany” (January 3, 2021)

Grace Surdovel, “Finding Courage to Speak our ‘Yes’ to God” (Dec. 8, 2020)

Cristina Traina, “Here Is the Church…”: Reflecting on a Conference about Lesbian Nuns (Nov. 28 2018)

Nancy Corcoran, “Nuns as Queer” (May 20, 2017)

Seeking the latest in Catholic LGBTQ news, opinion, and spirituality? Check out Bondings 2.0, the blog of New Ways Ministry, where we have published daily posts since late 2011. You can visit the blog here.

Want posts delivered directly to your inbox? Subscribe to Bondings 2.0 here.

Italian book launch of Love Tenderly, Rome, April 13, 2021, sponsored by “Donne per la Chiesa (Women for the Church)”. You can view a recording here (in Italian).
Love Tenderly authors, Grace Surdovel IHM, Janet Rozzano RSM, Diane Rapozo BVM, and Sister Emma had a conversation with blogger, Michelle Johns, on May 23, 2021. See and hear the conversation here.