Click here to join this online CLGS Catholic Roundtable Event via Zoom!

Join us for a conversation on how queer experience, resilience, creativity, transfression, and joy can shape a synodal Church of tomorrow through new forms of authentic witness.

Our Presenters

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.

Daniel P. Horan, PhD is Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies and Theology at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. A columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, he is the author or editor of sixteen books, including Catholicity and Emerging Personhood: A Contemporary Theological Anthropology, A White Catholic’s Guide to Racism and Privilege, and The Way of the Franciscans: A Prayer Journey Through Lent. Prof. Horan’s most recent books are titled Engaging Thomas Merton: Spirituality, Justice, and Racism and Fear and Faith: Hope and Wholeness in a Fractured World. He is currently working on a book on Christology, tentatively titled, Not Because of Sin: Reconsidering the Reason God Became Human. His academic research, writing, and teaching focus on medieval and contemporary spirituality, medieval and modern philosophy, theological anthropology, Christology, antiracism and LGBTQ issues, and theologies of creation. Prof. Horan regularly lectures around the United States and abroad and serves on several university, academic, non-profit, and publication editorial boards, including the Board of Directors of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality and the Franciscan Federation. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his writing and service and is co-host of The Francis Effect Podcast.

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.

Dr. Ish Ruiz is an assistant professor of Latinx and Queer Decolonial Theology at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA, where he also directs the Doctor of Ministry program and the Catholic Roundtable of the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS). He holds a PhD in Theology and Ethics from the Graduate Theological Union and his research interests include queer theology, Latinx theology, ecclesiology, sexual ethics, and Catholicism. Dr. Ruiz is the author of LGBTQ+ Educators in Catholic Schools: Embracing Inclusivity, Synodality, and Justice (Published by Rowman and Littlefield), the editor of Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions (Published by New Ways Ministry), and the author of numerous academic articles in prominent scholarly journals. He is also a member of various academic societies, including the board of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians in the US (ACHTUS). Prior to his appointment at Pacific School of Religion, Dr. Ruiz served as a post-doctoral fellow at Candler School of Theology at Emory University and as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton. He also worked at the secondary school level for 11 years, chaired the Marianist LGBTQ+ Initiative team, offered workshops on LGBTQ+ inclusion for Catholic institutions, and served as a union activist to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Church employees. He is a regular presenter in numerous pastoral conferences throughout the US and abroad and has actively ministered to queer Catholics for over a decade. A native of Puerto Rico and a queer Catholic theologian, Dr. Ruiz hopes to see a world where Catholicism (and Christianity, more broadly) embraces the diversity of gifts people of all racial backgrounds and sexual identities bring to society and the Church. 

Flora x. Tang is a feminist theologian who writes about queer theology, queer liturgies, and queer saints. She is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Feminist and Ecological Theology at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.