Pope Francis “united in prayer” with Outreach LGBTQ Catholic conference

In a note to James Martin, S.J., last month, Pope Francis wrote that he is “united in prayer” with the participants of Outreach 2024, a conference held from August 2 to 4 at Georgetown University that will bring together LGBTQ Catholics, their friends and families and those who minister to them.

Father Martin, who met with Pope Francis in a private audience in June, had written on July 10 to the Holy Father asking if he would like to share greetings with the conference. This Saturday, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, will preside at a Mass for conference participants at Georgetown’s Dahlgren Chapel.

On July 11, Pope Francis wrote:

R.P. James Martin sj

Querido hermano,
               Muchas gracias por tu correo.
               Me alegra que el Cardenal Gregory celebre la Misa; estaré espiritualmente junto a él y a ustedes, unido en la oración.
               Gracias por rezar por mí. Lo hago por Ustedes.
               Que Jesús los bendiga y la Virgen Santa los cuide.
               Fraternalmente,

  Francisco

English translation

R.P. James Martin S.J.

Dear brother,
                              Thank you very much for your email.
                              I am glad that Cardinal Gregory will celebrate the Mass; I will be spiritually with him and with all of you, united in prayer.
                              Thank you for praying for me. I do the same for you.
                              May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin care for you.
                              Fraternally,

Francis

This is the fourth letter that Pope Francis has sent in relation to an Outreach conference. In June 2021, on the eve of an online conference, he wrote a letter thanking Father Martin for his “pastoral zeal” and for imitating the “style of God,” and commending him for caring for “your faithful, your parishioners.” 

In 2022, after receiving a copy of the program booklet for the first in-person conference, Francis wrote to Father Martin and asked him to continue working “in the culture of encounter, which shortens the distances and enriches us with differences.” Last year, he wrote, “In my prayers and good wishes are you and all who are working at the Outreach conference.”

This year’s Outreach conference is the largest ever, with more than 300 participants expected to attend, and many on the waiting list. It is also the first to be held at Georgetown University, which has an active LGBTQ outreach program on campus. Keynote speakers this year are Amy-Jill Levine, the New Testament professor and author; Mark Bosco, S.J., vice president of mission and ministry at Georgetown and the Rev. William Hart McNichols, the renowned Catholic iconographer. 

Panels will include those focusing on LGBTQ ministry in parishes and universities, being the parent of LGBTQ children, transgender Catholics, the Bible and homosexuality and living a life of chastity.  

In his own letter to conference participants, Cardinal Gregory wrote, “As this conference draws LGBTQ lay people, clergy, scholars, artists, educators, students and family members to build community, your extensive work to share best practices and worship together represents a much-needed ministry that is undeniably building bridges and seeking to heal wounds. I thank you for your efforts.”

Father Martin, the founder of Outreach, said, “We are honored by the Holy Father’s greetings and his promises of prayers and are grateful for his own outreach to LGBTQ Catholics over the years.  We will be praying for his intentions this weekend as we gather together at Georgetown.”