Around 500 people gathered at Georgetown University’s historic Gaston Hall for the Outreach 2026 conference, marking five years of the LGBTQ+ Catholic ministry founded by Jesuit Father James Martin. The highlight of the three-day ‘Walking Side-by-Side’ gathering was a Saturday Vigil Mass celebrated by Cardinal Robert McElroy, of Washington. In a remarkably candid homily, Cardinal McElroy acknowledged that the Catholic Church has ‘frequently wounded’ the LGBTQ+ community through judgmentalism and exclusion.
However, the Cardinal pointed to a message of ‘great hope’ for pastoral care, highlighting recent shift updates under Pope Leo the 14th, which emphasize a more compassionate, pastoral approach over rigid focus on sexual morality. Conference organizers say the event provided a critical space for LGBTQ+ laypeople, theologians, and families to experience radical welcome and spiritual healing within their faith.
