At the end of this month, I will join LGBT Catholics and their parents in Munich for conference of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics. This follows an earlier gathering in Rome, 2015, where we appointed a steering committee to formally set up the legal and procedural framework for a permanent body. The forthcoming conference will approve the statutes, and begin the serious work of expanding pastoral care for LGBT Catholics, extending dialogue and advocacy work with Catholic bishops, and countering church support for legal sanctions against LGBT people.
The German theologian Michael Brinkschroder has, for the past two years, been one of the two co-presidents of the steering committee. In this article published on the GNRC website, he discusses his experience of being both gay and Catholic, as well as his hopes for the GNRC.