Join the CLGS Catholic Roundtable – and our co-sponsoring organizations – to explore Synodality and LGBTQIA2S+ Persons!
DATES: 2, 4, 9, 11, and 16 November 2026: from 4pm to 5:30pm (Pacific Time)
See Description of Each Event Below!
We will be meeting on Zoom; click here to join any or all of these events — or see the QR Code at the bottom of this page.
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This speaker series continues the work of discerning synodality within the parish context, taking up the call of Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV, and the global Synod to become a Church that listens, accompanies, and walks together.
Across six panels throughout the 2026-2027 academic school year, the series explores LGBTQIA2S+ identities as lived realities within the People of God, the experiences of queer Catholics in parish life and ecclesial institutions, and the pastoral, theological, and canonical questions that arise as communities seek deeper inclusion.
Grounded in lived experience, theological reflection, and shared discernment, these conversations highlight both the struggles and gifts of LGBTQIA2S+ persons, attending to how queer joy, creativity, resilience, and witness already shape the Church. Ultimately, the series invites participants to imagine and embody a more radically synodal Church at the grassroots level, where belonging is real and where LGBTQIA2S+ persons are integral to the Church’s ongoing conversion and future.
Goals:
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Deepen our collective understanding of synodality as a way of being Church by engaging the call of Pope Francis and the global Synod toward LGBTQIA2S+ persons through theological reflection and communal discernment.
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Foster dialogue between theology and lived experience, bringing theologians, pastoral leaders, and LGBTQIA2S+ Catholics into conversation as co-contributors to the Church’s ongoing discernment.
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Center the voices and experiences of LGBTQIA2S+ persons as essential sources for theological insight, ecclesial reflection, and pastoral renewal.
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Equip participants for pastoral practice by integrating theological frameworks with concrete realities, enabling more inclusive, responsive, and synodal parish communities.
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Discern the future of the Church together, recognizing how the gifts, questions, and witness of LGBTQIA2S+ persons, alongside theological scholarship, can shape a more just, participatory, and belonging-centered Church.
SCHEDULE
- Monday, 2 November 2026 from 4pm to 5:30pm (Pacific Time): What is the LGBTQIA2S+ Community and Why Does Synodality Call Us to Inclusion? with Brian Flanagan, Dianeil Tillson, Migueal Diaz, and Alice Candy.
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- Wednesday, 4 November 2026 from 4pm to 5:30pm (Pacific Time): Synodality and LGBTQIA2S+ Persons in Parish Life with Fr. James Alison, Yunuen Trujillo, Fr. James Martin, SJ, and Fr. Nnaemeka Ali, OMI.
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- Monday, 9 November 2026 from 4pm to 5:30pm (Pacific Time): Synodality and the Experiences of LGBTQIA2S+ Persons within Ecclesial Institutions with Sister Jeannine Gramick, Mark Guevarra, Rev. Brian N. Massingale, and Michael Prendergast.
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- Wednesday, 11 November 2026 from 4pm to 5:30pm (Pacific Time): Synodality and LGBTQIA2S+ Engagement in Church and Society with Emma Cieslik, Chris Damian, Nicholas Hayes-Mota, Maxwell Kuzma, and Michael Prendergast.
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- Monday, 16 November 2026 from 4pm to 5:30pm (Pacific Time): Synodality and LGBTQIA2S+ Contributions to the Church of Tomorrow with Alice Candy, Daniel P. Horan, Michael Prendergast, Dr. Ish Ruiz, and Flora x. Tang.
To join us for any/all of these events, please see the QR Code at the bottom of this page.
