What is Catholic Allies?
The purpose of Catholic Allies is to create a shared space for Catholics to learn how to be loving supporters of the LGBTQ+ community within our homes and within Catholic spaces. Catholic Allies is a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering Catholics and Non-Catholics to learn from the knowledge, skills, gifts, and experiences of a diverse array of insightful speakers, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. A goal of our group is to inspire, educate and entertain people by sharing thought-provoking and respectful dialogue about how we can be both a Catholic and an ally to LGBTQ+ individuals. We aim to provide a safe space to host an ever-evolving array of diverse speakers to promote cross-disciplinary thinking and engage in a respectful, sensitive, and compassionate dialogue about being a Catholic Ally.
Kate Berry and Danielle Wiese are the founders of Catholic Allies (formerly Indy Catholic Allies). We're here to pass the mic to people who know what they're talking about so we can learn alongside our friends.
This group was started after several conversations at our Book Club, which is made up of all ’03 Bishop Chatard High School Graduates, about how we want to make sure LGBTQ+ students know that they are loved beyond measure and without condition.
Who speaks at Catholic Allies events?
We have been fortunate enough to provide a platform for a diverse array of voices central to our mission. Individuals who have spoken at our events include LGBTQ+ persons, their parents and family members, Catholic Priests, educators, mental health professionals, coaches, professors of higher education, and various community members within Catholic spaces.
While most speakers are Catholic, we are inclusive to former and non-Catholics. Not every speaker is a member of the LGBTQ+ Community. All speakers have both knowledge worth sharing and a willingness to learn alongside us all.
Who helps keep Catholic Allies going?
You! Catholic Allies is a grassroots, intergenerational effort which would not be possible without the support and love from our community of volunteers. We have a small Leadership Team as well as an ever-growing presence of parish liaisons representing the Catholic communities they call their homes.
Our meetings are open to all individuals who are open to exploring how they can be both a Catholic and an ally no matter where they are in their personal or spiritual journey.
Our Mission
Our Mission
Our Mission
The mission of Catholic Allies is to foster a culture of loving support for the LGBTQ+ community within our Catholic families. We aim to prayerfully lead more LGBTQ+- inclusive conversations within our own homes so that we may raise a generation of children who recognize the inherent worth of every individual. Changing Church doctrine or
The mission of Catholic Allies is to foster a culture of loving support for the LGBTQ+ community within our Catholic families. We aim to prayerfully lead more LGBTQ+- inclusive conversations within our own homes so that we may raise a generation of children who recognize the inherent worth of every individual. Changing Church doctrine or challenging others’ personal beliefs is not our mission.
Catholic Allies leaders are not, and do not claim to be, experts on Church doctrine. For these reasons, Catholic Allies will not comment on Catholic Church doctrine.
This group is composed of people with many opinions on Catholic Church doctrine as it pertains to the LGBTQ+ community. People with all views are welcome, provided that they are prepared to attend Catholic Allies events to create dialogue and inclusion, not debate or disrespect.
We seek to build a bridge uniting people with different beliefs. Catholic Allies extends an invitation to meet us on this bridge. There we can learn together how to best fulfill irrefutable Catholic teachings on how to love the LGBTQ+ population as children of God. Regardless of what any Catholic believes regarding sin and sexuality, all Catholics are called to the following tenets:
- Working together to create communities that prioritize respect, compassion, and sensitivity for LGBTQ+ persons. (Catechism 2358)
- Denouncing unjust discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons. (Catechism 2358)
- Inviting all sinners to the Catholic table without claiming false authority to stratify sins by our own perceptions of gravity. In order for our Catholic communities to flourish, we cannot limit the space at our table to select groups. We are all sinners, and we all deserve equal space at the table. (Mark 2:13-17, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 7, Luke 15:2, Matthew 11:19, Luke 14:1-24, Matthew 21:31-32)
Our Goals
Our Mission
Our Mission
Change the conversations surrounding LGBTQ+ within our own homes to help our children realize there are many different types of families, and that we love them all.
Prevent bullying of LGBTQ+ students in our schools.
Get people back to mass by communicating the Church’s respect for every human’s dignity...a message that will help heal young people’s disconnect from the Church.
Our Why
Our Mission
Our Why
LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020).
Having at least one accepting adult can reduce the risk of a suicide attempt
among LGBTQ young people by 40 percent (The Trevor Project).
Being an “accepting adult” and following Church doctrine can coexist. We aspire
LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020).
Having at least one accepting adult can reduce the risk of a suicide attempt
among LGBTQ young people by 40 percent (The Trevor Project).
Being an “accepting adult” and following Church doctrine can coexist. We aspire to create an environment in which a Catholic educator can be someone’s “one accepting adult.”