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Who belongs in a synodal Church, and what do queer persons bring to the journey? In this opening session of Synodality and LGBTQIA2S+ Persons: Toward a Church of Belonging, we ask what the LGBTQIA2S+ community is, and why the call to walk together as the whole People of God summons us to inclusion.
Four presenters join moderator Dr. SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai for an opening conversation on LGBTQIA2S+ identities as lived realities, on the baptismal dignity shared by all the faithful, and on the mutual gifts that queer persons and the Church offer one another.
Our Presenters
SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, and an affiliate faculty of Ethnic Studies at the University of Portland.
Alice Candy (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in theology at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, ON. She works in the area of theological anthropology, focusing on reconstructive feminist theologies and the doctrine of deification in the Eastern Churches, and her feminist/Queer approach to this topic is shaped by the deep impact Christian assumptions about the meaning of human sexual difference have had on her own life.
Dr. Miguel H. Díaz is the John Courtney Murray, S.J. University Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago. He served under President Barack Obama as the 9th U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See. He is co-editor of the series from Fordham University Press titled Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente. He is the editor of the multi-authored first volume, The Word Became Culture (2024) and is the author of the third volume, Queer God de Amor (2022). As a public theologian, he engages print, radio, and television media. He participates in several diplomatic initiatives in Washington, D.C., including being a member of the Board and Senior Fellow for Religion and Peacebuilding for the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP).
Dr. Brian P. Flanagan is the John Cardinal Cody Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola University Chicago, and a Senior Fellow at New Ways Ministry. His research focuses on ecclesiology, the theological study of the church, and he is the author of Stumbling in Holiness: Sin and Sanctity in the Church (2018) and co-editor of Embodying Ecclesial Diversity (2026).
Michael Prendergast, MTS, MA, is a seasoned pastoral musician and liturgist, an adjunct instructor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Portland and the founder of Sacred Liturgy Ministries.
Daniel Tillson is a traditionally-minded, proud gay Catholic, and legislative strategist with extensive experience working for conservative politicians, and the author of Theology for the Unwanted: Reclaiming Your Place in God’s Church. Working at the intersection of public policy, institutional ethics, and pastoral outreach, he aims to bridge vital gaps in LGBT ministry and help individuals navigating parish life find their path forward exactly as God made them.