Some 30 gay rights groups said Tuesday they are sending members to the Catholic Church’s major family convention in September, in hopes of meeting with Pope Francis.
Equally Blessed — a coalition of Catholic organizations working for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people — says it will have a dozen families at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September.
”Each and every one of these pilgrims is deeply committed to their Catholic faith,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a member of the Equally Blessed coalition.
”We have to address the challenges that current Catholic teaching presents, and the way too many people are hurt by things that happen in the church,” said Ms. Duddy-Burke, who will attend the Philadelphia conference with her wife and daughters.
Members of Equally Blessed, along with 26 other organizations, sent a letter to Francis asking that he meet with their members and families during his U.S. visit.
The church’s ”teaching and pastoral practices surrounding homosexuality are causing an enormous pastoral crisis, as well as upholding systemic, institutionalized discrimination against LGBT people and our families,” the group said.
Representatives going to the conference will include people who are intersex, “gender-queer,” transgender, lesbian or gay, and their family members.
The World Meeting of Families 2015 is expected to draw massive crowds to the conference, Festival of Families and Francis’ outdoor Mass on Sunday.
In 2012, when the event was held in Milan, Italy, 7,000 people attended the conference, 350,000 people came to the Festival of Families, and 1 million people attended the papal Mass on the Sunday following the event.
• Cheryl Wetzstein can be reached at cwetzstein@washingtontimes.com.
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