John J. McNeill, psychotherapist, moral theologian, writer and lecturer, and a towering figure in the gay-rights movement, will be in Chicago to accept the Thomas A. Dooley Award from The Gay and Lesbian Alumni/ae of the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College (GALA-ND/SMC) at an event at Hydrate on Saturday, Oct. 1, 7-10 p.m., 3458 N. Halsted. For more than 25 years, John J. McNeill, an ordained priest and psychotherapist, has been devoting his life to spreading the good news of God’s love for lesbian and gay Christians.
A founding member of DignityNewYork, in 1974, McNeill is still an active member of DignityUSA, the advocacy organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics.
McNeill will also be at Dignity/Chicago Sunday, Oct. 2, 3-4 p.m., 3344 N. Broadway.
One year after the publication of his book The Church and the Homosexual (1976), McNeill received an order from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ordering him to silence in the public media. He observed the silence for nine years while continuing a private ministry to gays and lesbians, which included psychotherapy, workshops, lectures and retreats. In 1988, he received a further order from Cardinal Ratzinger directing him to give up all ministry to gay persons which he refused to do in conscience. As a result, he was expelled by the Vatican from the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) for challenging the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the issue of homosexuality, and for refusing to give up his ministry and psychotherapy practice to gay men and lesbians. McNeill had been a Jesuit for nearly 40 years.
McNeill will also be presenting a lecture, ‘How Should Gays Deal With the Homophobic Church Hierarchy,’ which will address how gays and lesbians can free themselves from dependency on the hierarchical authority of the Church and learn to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit dwelling within. The lecture is sponsored by DignityChicago and will take place Oct. 2.
Call (312) 458-9438; dignitychicago.org.