Featured LGBTQ Event and News

Our Liberties We Prize | Documentary Short

On February 27, 2025, activists rally at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa in effort to defeat a bill aimed at stripping transgender people of protections under the Iowa Civil Rights Act.       Watch the video

How I learned to reconcile my Catholic faith with my love for another woman

By Janine Scott-dos Santos / March 27, 2025 

Outreach

Excerpt: "Volunteering to lead a Catholic Life in the Spirit seminar, I was met with a letter from the parish priest declaring that those not living in a “state of grace” should refrain from leadership roles. The letter felt personal, aimed directly at me, as it outlined examples of “grave sin,” with implications that left no doubt about the specific target. I was devastated. The very community where I could have offered guidance and mentorship to young LGBTQ+ individuals felt hostile and dismissive."

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A message of hope from a Black, queer, Catholic man

 By Tevin V. Williams / February 27, 2025

Outreach

Excerpt: "Both the President and Vice President of the United States are playing right into the exact experience that I have watched growing up in south Georgia as a young man, and which has now taken full form in my adult life. Simply put, there are some Christians who seem to believe that anyone who is not white and cisgendered, male or female, is not loved by God and should be treated as such. Clearly, this group of self-proclaimed Christians are not reading the same Bible that I do, and also are not praying to the same God that I have been praying to my whole life."

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Missouri Priest Displays Unique Courage in Support of Transgender People

By Francis DeBernardo, February 7, 2025

Executive Director, New Ways Ministry

Excerpt: "...Fr. Mitch Doyen, the pastor of St. Josephine Bakhita parish, St. Louis... recently testified in the state legislature against two bills which would renew Missouri’s current ban on puberty blockers for transgender youth.  According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the priest told the lawmakers that he believes in a loving God “who has fashioned each human person as a unique reflection of God’s love in the world.”  He continued:

'I am not afraid to imagine a world more profound than male and female. And I trust the parents, the families, the doctors, the counselors — all who love our transgender youth — to make these decisions more than you.'”

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Cardinal Gregory’s Apology to LGBTQ+ Catholics Is a ‘Watershed Moment’

By Francis DeBernardo, January 30, 2025

Executive Director, New Ways Ministry

Excerpt: "'I apologize not only for those whose past actions have scandalized and wounded these men and women. I apologize for my own lack of courage to bring healing and hope, and I ask forgiveness.'

Earlier in the service, the cardinal stated:

'There is no room for religious bigotry that is largely fueled by lack of knowledge and ignorance on the part of peoples who may call themselves religious but whose behavior violates the basic tenets of most of the great faith traditions of the world.'"

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Canadian Court Upholds Expulsion of Anti-Trans Catholic H.S. Student

By Francis DeBernardo, February 3, 2025

Executive Director, New Ways Ministry

Excerpt: "...Alexander appealed the decisions to the school board’s suspension and exclusion appeals committee, claiming that though he may have offended transgender students, he did not cause them any harm. Contrary to those claims, the appeals committee found that Alexander 'had engaged in gender-based harassment by referring to transgender students who used the bathroom of their choice as ‘perverted,’ and calling them ‘predators.’ 

The Renfrew County Catholic school board ultimately denied his requests for reinstatement, prompting him to seek judicial review of those decisions in the Ontario Divisional Court. Alexander argued that he was a victim of “faithism” which he defined as experiencing discrimination based on his religious beliefs. He claimed that the school board failed to accommodate his right to express his religious beliefs on gender and sexuality, namely that God created human beings as immutably male or female. 

The three-member Divisional Court rejected Alexander’s argument and deemed his suspension and exclusion to be reasonable. They emphasized that the school board made its decisions based on his behavior, not his beliefs, stating:

'While individuals are entitled to their religious beliefs, opinions and views, what they are not entitled to do is act in a manner that disrespects, discriminates, insults, denigrates, harasses, bullies or otherwise creates an unsafe environment for anyone in the school.'”

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