DignityUSA is an organization with headquarters in
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, that focuses on
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
and the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Dignity Canada exists as the Canadian sister organization. The organization is made up of local chapters across the country, and functions both as a support and social group for LGBT and LGBT-accepting Catholics to worship together. "The goal of 'Dignity' is to serve as an advocate for change in the Roman Catholic Church's stance on homosexuality",
[ and as an activist group for LGBT rights and education about LGBT issues.
Since 2007, Marianne Duddy-Burke has served as executive director.
]
History
Dignity was founded in early 1969 in San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, by Father Pat Nidorf,[Hogan and Hudson, p. 478] first as a counseling group, then as a support group. That makes it a "pre- Stonewall" LGBT organization that is still in existence. The first chapter of Dignity formed in 1970 in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
In 1982, lesbian members of Dignity founded the Conference for Catholic Lesbians, out of concern that Dignity was too oriented toward males.
DignityUSA has been recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 5 ...
since August 1982.
''On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons''
On October 1, 1986, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...
, the Catholic body charged to "spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines", issued a letter entitled '' On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons''. In it, the Catholic Church affirmed its position that homosexual ''activity'' was "objectively disordered" and that all support should be withdrawn from any organization that undermined the Church's teaching or were ambiguous about or neglectful of it.
According to writer Neil Miller, an immediate effect of the document was the decision by several American bishops to order that DignityUSA no longer be allowed to hold Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
in Catholic churches. Dioceses in Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, Buffalo, Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, Pensacola
Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...
, Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
all rescinded permission for the organization to hold services on church property. In some cases the group chapters had been holding Masses for a decade or longer.
Honors
DignityUSA was given Call To Action's 1994 Leadership Award.
Dignity Chicago was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1997.
In 2023, San Francisco Mayor London Breed
London Nicole Breed (born August 11, 1974) is an American politician who served as the 45th mayor of San Francisco from 2018 to 2025. She was supervisor for District 5 and was president of the Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2018.
Raised in t ...
declared January 15 Dignity/San Francisco Day and issued a proclamation; 2023 was the year of Dignity/San Francisco's fiftieth anniversary.
Chapters
As of 2021, there are 37 chapters, in the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were currently 17 offering online services.
See also
* Catholics United
* Homosexuality and Catholicism
* Integrity USA, Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
* LGBT-welcoming church programs
* Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination
* New Ways Ministry
Notes
References
* Hogan, Steve and Lee Hudson (1998). ''Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia''. New York, Henry Holt and Company. .
* Miller, Neil (1995). ''Out Of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History From 1869 To the Present''. New York, Vintage (a division of Random House). .
* The National Museum & Archive of Lesbian and Gay History (1996). ''The Gay Almanac''. New York, Berkeley Books. .
External links
*
Pax Nidorf-Founder
Joseph Killian-First DignityUSA President
Conference for Catholic Lesbians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dignityusa
LGBTQ and Catholicism
LGBTQ Christian organizations
Organizations established in 1969
1969 establishments in California
501(c)(3) organizations
Organizations based in Boston
Medford, Massachusetts