Though uninvited, gay Catholics’ presence felt at Eucharistic Congress
Adapted from reporting by PGN staff
Though uninvited, Dignity, the organization for gay Catholics, distributed leaflets and held a Mass to coincide with the 41st International Eucharistic Congress held in Philadelphia Aug. 1-8, 1976.
The theme of the gathering was “Hunger.” Dignity chose to express the hunger of gay people for justice and freedom within the Church and the secular world.
The Rev. Paul Morrissey, a chaplain for Dignity/Philadelphia, said his organization supported the Eucharistic Congress. Its members simply wanted to demonstrate that gays are one of the minorities excluded from full participation in the Church.
Members of Dignity distributed leaflets to participants entering the Civic Center that included pro-gay statements from Bishop Francis Mugavero of Brooklyn and the Rev. Gregory Baum from Canada.
The Revs. Morrisey and Declan Daley held a Mass attended by at least 200 people. Aside from one priest pushing through the crowd before the service and saying, “This is not Catholic, you know,” there were no interruptions.
Attendees included husbands and wives with their children, elderly nuns, priests and seminarians, women and men, straight and gay people. Representatives from six chapters of Dignity participated in the Mass along with participants from the Eucharistic Congress.
DYKETACTICS demonstrates at Eucharistic Congress
Adapted from reporting by Harry Langhorne
Ten women from DYKETACTICS staged three demonstrations during the 41st International Eucharistic Congress held in August 1976.
Sherrie Cohen, a Philadelphia activist, described the actions as educational and non-confrontational.
DYKETACTICS set up a booth in front of the Civic Center, offering lesbian and feminist publications for sale. Some feminists and lesbians stopped to offer support, Cohen said. But other women fought the group on its critiques of the Catholic Church for excluding women from power.
DYKETACTICS also protested a Mass for the military and a Mass at which 100,000 people heard President Gerald Ford speak and Pope Paul VI relay a message by satellite.
Cohen said protesters held signs reading, “Whatever happened to the separation of Church and State?” and “Pope’s Encyclical and Supreme Court decision conspire against homosexuals.”
— compiled by Paige Cooperstein