DignityUSA
Encyclopedia
DignityUSA is a U.S.
organization with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts that "works for respect
and justice
" for lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT
) persons in the Roman Catholic Church
and the world through education, advocacy and support. Dignity Canada exists as the Canadian sister organization.
DignityUSA has local chapters across the United States and Canada
, where members socialize and worship with LGBT and supportive Catholics. Members also gather to share personal and spiritual concerns and work together on educational and homosexual rights issues.
In 2009, the executive director, Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry spoke about his disagreement with remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that condom distribution increased AIDS prevalence.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
organization with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts that "works for respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
and justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
" for lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) persons in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and the world through education, advocacy and support. Dignity Canada exists as the Canadian sister organization.
DignityUSA has local chapters across the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where members socialize and worship with LGBT and supportive Catholics. Members also gather to share personal and spiritual concerns and work together on educational and homosexual rights issues.
History
Dignity's stated goals are to create "a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society."In 2009, the executive director, Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry spoke about his disagreement with remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that condom distribution increased AIDS prevalence.