What You Can Do
- Establish an LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination policy at your Catholic institution. Find out how to do so here.
- Contact your bishop about LGBTQ church worker justice, and seek a meeting with him to discuss more inclusive diocesan policies. You can find bishop’ contact information here.
- Educate yourself about past incidents, legal developments, and how Catholics, including church leaders, have responded. More information is available here.
- Contact New Ways Ministry for consultation as well as programs on employment and other LGBTQ issues. You can contact us here.
- Pray for LGBTQ church workers that their gifts are valued and their pains are heard. You can find a sample prayer here.
- Keep up to date with the latest news about LGBT employment issues in the church by subscribing to our blog, Bondings 2.0.
- Find out what church teaching says about non-discrimination and civil rights by clicking here.
In Church Workers’ Own Words
Mary Kate Curry
“When the Diocese discriminates against LGBT church workers, how is this mission fulfilled? Is it truly the Body of Christ that is speaking and acting? . . . If you feel this discrimination isn’t right, I implore you to speak out and reach out. We can do better as a church.”
Mark Guevarra
“I believe my employment termination is unjust. I believe the denial of the prayer and support group for LGBTQ Catholics is unjust. I believe being terminated for conscientiously and respectfully disagreeing with a church teaching is a slippery slope for all church workers and therefore unjust. Worse still, it sends a damaging message to all LGBTQ Catholics that they have no place in the Church.”
Fernanda Beldero
“Last year, a writer on a conservative Catholic website wrote an article about me . . . These are threatening times in our Church today for any LGBTQ+ person working in a Catholic institution, so this article made my employment as a Catholic educator extremely vulnerable. I was stunned and deeply hurt by this writer’s violation.”
William di Canzio
“The pain of this decision can only be felt where there is love. Here’s why it
hurts: when I first came to Daylesford Abbey in 1981, I had just undergone what I later learned is called a conversion . . . Though I’d never seen the place before, when I entered its church for the first time, I had the uncanny feeling that I’d come home.”