Click here to join this online CLGS Lavender Lunch via Zoom!

We invite you to join us for this CLGS Lavender Lunch, which will feature a distinguished panel of leaders from various LGBTQ+ ministry organizations, including Outreach, New Ways Ministry, Dignity USA, and the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative LGBT Initiative.

Panelists will offer reflections on their respective ministries, highlighting the unique challenges they have encountered as well as the opportunities that lie ahead for advancing LGBTQ+ ministry within the Catholic context.

Following the panel presentations, attendees will participate in a collective discussion facilitated by Dr. Ish Ruíz, Coordinator of the CLGS Catholic Roundtable. This discussion will focus on the practical dimensions of Catholic LGBTQ+ ministry in today’s evolving ecclesial and political landscape.

Our Presenters

Professor Ish Ruíz is Coordinator of the CLGS Catholic Roundtable and Assistant Professor of Latinx and Queer Decolonial Theology at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. Dr. Ruíz holds a PhD in Theology and Ethics from the Graduate Theological Union.

A native from Puerto Rico and a queer Catholic theologian, his research interests explore the intersection between queer theology, Latinx theology, ecclesiology, sexual ethics, liberation, human rights, and Catholic education.

He is the author of LGBTQ+ Educators in Catholic Schools: Synodality, Inclusivity, and Justice (Rowman and Littlefield), the editor of Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions, and the author of numerous academic articles.

Francis DeBernardo has been the Executive Director of New Ways Ministry since 1996, leading

Francis DeBernardo

educational programs on LGBTQ+ issues and Catholicism across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. He is the author of several influential books, including New Ways and Next Steps, Mychal Judge: Take Me Where You Want Me to Go, and A Home for All: A Catholic Call for LGBTQ+ Non-Discrimination. In addition to publishing widely in Catholic and secular outlets, he edits the Bondings 2.0 blog and frequently speaks to church, academic, and media audiences. In 2023 and 2024, he met personally with Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss LGBTQ+, transgender, and intersex issues.

Marianne Duddy-Burke

Marianne Duddy-Burke is the Executive Director of DignityUSA, the oldest Catholic organization advocating justice and full inclusion for LGBTQIA+ people, and co-chairs the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics. A frequent speaker and writer, she has been featured in major media outlets worldwide and in the documentary Wonderfully Made: LGBTQ+R(eligion). In 2023, she met with Pope Francis, and she has advised the U.S. State Department and testified before Congress on LGBTQ+ rights, health care, and religious exemptions. She lives in Boston with her spouse Becky and their two adult children.

Michael O’Loughlin

Michael J. O’Loughlin is the executive director of Outreach, an LGBTQ Catholic ministry, and author of Hidden Mercy: Catholics, AIDS, and Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear and The Tweetable Pope. His award-winning journalism on HIV, AIDS, and Catholic issues has been recognized by the GLAAD Media Awards, the Catholic Media Association, and the National LGBT Journalists Association. Formerly a national correspondent for America Magazine and staff writer for The Boston Globe and Crux, his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and more. He is a frequent speaker and media commentator on Catholic life and LGBTQ issues.

Sabina Marroquin

Sabina Marroquin serves as the Campus Minister for LGBTQ+ communities at the University of Dayton and is a member of the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative LGBTQ+ Initiative team. Her work explores the intersection of faith, gender, and sexuality from a Catholic and Marianist spirituality.

A CLGS Fall 2025 Lavender Lunch