Resources for Parents and Friends of Gay Catholics

It's terrifying to come out as lesbian or gay, especially when you're not sure how your family will react. It's especially hard to come out to family and friends when you're not sure that they will support you or even accept you.  For many people, coming out as lesbian or gay means that you're taking the very real risk of losing people you love.  It takes a lot of courage to come out, and it's not something that you have to do right away (or ever).

For me, one of the most helpful things that I could do before and after coming out was to look for support and information.  Finding LGBT resources gave me the confidence to admit to myself that I was gay, and helped me form my own opinions about homosexuality within the Catholic Church.  They also helped me start talking to my family and friends about what it means for me to be LGBT and Catholic.

Lately I've realized that there don't seem to be a lot of resources for LGBT Catholics, or for parents and friends of LGBT catholics.  I want to make it easier for LGBT Catholics and loved ones to find resources with information about what it means to be gay and Catholic.  I'm sure that there are many I don't know about, but I've listed here the ones that I do know.  Feel free to let me know if there are any that I haven't listed.

To Start:

Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message To Parents Of Homosexual Children And Suggestions For Pastoral Ministers

• This article, a 1997 statement by the Bishops' Committee on Marriage and Family, is a good place to start if you have recently found out that a child or loved one is gay.

LGBT Catholic Resources:

If you're looking for more information, here are a few Catholic organizations dedicated to creating a safe space within the Church for LGBT individuals.  These are all good places to start looking for support:

Equally Blessed

• Equally Blessed is a coalition of the four groups listed below.  Equally Blessed is a good place to look for news related to LGBT advocacy within the Catholic Church.

Fortunate Families

• Fortunate Families is a great place to start if you've recently discovered that a child or loved one is gay and are looking for answers or support.  They also have a section for transgender resources, which I love.

DignityUSA

• DignityUSA is a good place to go if you want to become involved in LGBT ministry.

Call to Action

• Call to Action is a social justice movement within the Catholic Church.  It's a great way to become  involved in a movement toward justice and equality.

New Ways Ministry

• New Ways Ministry runs a lot of LGBT news, and seeks to promote dialogue within the Church.

For Other LGBT Resources:

CDC List of LGBT Youth Resources

• I recommend checking out the Trevor Project, PFLAG National, and the It Gets Better Project (It makes me cry!).

Gay Christian Network

• GCN isn't specifically Catholic, but it's a great resource and it really helped me take the step toward coming out to my friends and family.