Save the date! The Outreach 2023 LGBTQ Catholic Ministry Conference will be held this year at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus in New York City, June 16 to 18.
Join us for sharing best practices, building community and worshiping together. Stay tuned for more information!
About Outreach
Outreach is an LGBTQ Catholic resource. We offer news, essays, resources and community for LGBTQ Catholics, their families and friends, and those who minister to them in the Catholic church worldwide. Outreach also highlights welcoming parishes, schools and other Catholic organizations.
Our website, outreach.faith, features original articles from theologians, scholars, church leaders, family members, and many others, both lay and clergy. It also provides information about our conferences and gatherings.
Outreach operates under the auspices of America Media, a Jesuit ministry, and is rooted in the love of Jesus, who reached out to all those who felt excluded.
A Prayer to St. Joseph, Patron of Outreach
(CNS photo/Gregory Shemitz)
St. Joseph, patron of the home,
Help us to build a welcoming home
for LGBTQ people in the church.
St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus,
help us to remind all our brothers, sisters and siblings
that they are beloved children of God.
St. Joseph, patron of the family,
help us to nurture families
where all children feel loved for who they are.
St. Joseph, craftsman and laborer,
help us to work to spread
God’s justice in the world.
St. Joseph, patron of builders,
help us to build a society
where all are safe from violence.
St. Joseph, loving husband of Mary,
help us to lead lives
of care and devotion to those we love.
St. Joseph, patron of chastity,
help us to be models of selfless love
and boundless charity.
St. Joseph, patron of the hidden life,
help us to carry out our work with
grace, patience and humility.
St. Joseph, pray for all LGBTQ people
who find in you a loving parent,
protector and guardian.
St. Joseph, pray that all those
who feel lost, rejected or excluded,
will come to know that God loves them
as much as you loved Jesus.
St. Joseph, pray for all of us,
no matter who we are,
where we come from or
where we are going.
Amen.
A welcome from our editor
On behalf of many people involved in this effort, welcome to Outreach, a new LGBTQ Catholic resource.
,As you’ll see by exploring our site, we hope to offer news, resources and community for LGBTQ Catholics, for their families and friends, and for those who minister to them in the Catholic Church around the world. Through our website and conferences, we also aim to raise up people, parishes, schools, and other Catholic ministries and organizations that offer inspiring stories and are providing a home for LGBTQ people.
Why are we starting this new website? Well, reflecting on LGBTQ ministries in the Catholic Church worldwide we realized that there was no one place that served as a clearinghouse for information about this ministry. So, we decided to bring all these resources together, to make it easier for people to find what’s already being done and offer them some new things as well.
Outreach, which operates under the auspices of America Media, is rooted in the love of Jesus, who, during his public ministry, reached out to all those who were excluded; it’s inspired by the saints and blessed and holy men and women who, in every age, cared for those who were neglected; and it’s grounded in the church’s call today to treat LGBTQ people with “respect, compassion and sensitivity” (Catechism #2358).
Outreach also hopes to offer a place where church leaders, both clergy and lay, can encounter the LGBTQ faithful, in their “joys and hopes” and “griefs and anxieties” as well as engage in respectful dialogue (Gaudium et Spes, #1). Pope Francis’s model of “closeness, compassion and tenderness” towards the LGBTQ community inspires us in our ministry of outreach.
Overall, we hope to help LGBTQ Catholics know that God loves them, that they are at the heart of their church and that they have many gifts to offer the People of God.You’ll see a few main parts to our website: First, news, which will include (obviously) news stories about LGBT Catholics and those who minister them, as well as personal essays and reflections from around the world. Second, a resource page, which includes links to as many worldwide resources as we could identify: articles, books, videos, websites, and Catholic organizations that we hope will help you.
Also, a feature called “Gaudete,” where we will spotlight parishes, schools, dioceses, organizations and individuals who are helping to make the church a more welcoming place for LGBTQ people.
You’ll see articles in a variety of languages: English, but also Spanish, French, German and many others. We aim to help LGBTQ Catholics worldwide. And if you would like to have any of our articles in your own language, you can just hit the translate button.
We have a diverse team of people helping on all this, besides our team at America: Jesuits, but also LGBTQ Catholic lay men and women, all of whom are committed to making the church a more welcoming place.
Outreach is a work in progress. We’ll be adding to it, and tinkering with it, to make sure that it provides people with what they most need. And of course we’ll let the Spirit take it where the Spirit wants it to go. There’s a place for you to contact us, to let us know what you’ll need and make recommendations. Maybe you have an article, book or organization that you’ve found helpful. Or maybe you found a problem with something we posted. Either way, let us know. There’s also a donate button, too.
We hope you’ll find this resource helpful, and we ask for your prayers. Enjoy Outreach!
—James Martin, S.J.
Outreach, which is part of America Media, is made possible by your prayers and the generosity of our donors.
Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities
George Konnight Charitable Trust
ConferenceDirect Foundation
E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation
America House Jesuit Community
Mark A. McDermott, Esq.
Deacon Jim Knipper
Laura and Brian Hull
Massiello Weyant Charitable Fund
William Q. Derrough
Mary J. Donnelly Foundation
Kim Bepler, Fordham University Trustee
Miguel Gonzalez
Christopher Butler
Carolyn and Charles Buscarino
USA East Province of the Society of Jesus
Madeleine and Philip A. Lacovara, Esq.
Levecke Family Foundation
Editor: James Martin, S.J.
Technical Advisor: Jai Sen
Managing Editor: Ryan Di Corpo