Our charitable purpose as defined in our constitution is “To proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ for the advancement of the Christian religion amongst LGBT+ Catholics”.
So we aim to:
- Bring good news by bearing witness to the reality of our lives as LGBT+ Catholics and providing information about LGBT+ related issues and developments within the church.
- Deliver pastoral support by organising ourselves into regional groups and running annual conferences and other spiritually focussed events.
- Practise advocacy by supporting communication between lay people and clergy, being open to dialogue and furthering mutual understanding within the church and broader society.
Bringing Good News/ Proclaiming the Gospel
The word “Gospel” is derived from “Good News”. Pope Francis’ first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), emphasised this aspect of the Gospel message, and insisted that evangelization and proclaiming the Gospel is a task for all Catholics, not just for ordained clergy. In taking on this task in accordance with our own constitution, we are, in effect, bringing good news to LGBT+ Catholics – and carrying out Pope Francis’ instruction (and have been doing so, since well before he issued it).
We seek to demonstrate to LGBT+ Catholics that it is possible to reconcile their sexual orientation and gender identity with their Catholic faith. By the witness of our lives we claim our space within the family of the church. Most of our members identify as both Catholic and openly LGBT+. Many are out and proud in their local parishes and making valued contributions to parish life.
The idea that being an “LGBT+ Catholic” is impossible rests on a partial, inaccurate and incomplete reading of what Church teaching actually says. Quest aims to counter this by promoting a more complete and balanced understanding of that teaching beyond the all too familiar phrase “intrinsically disordered”, emphasising the need for engagement between the LGBT+ community and the church with “respect compassion and sensitivity”.
Delivering pastoral support
Proclaiming Good News to LGBT+ Catholics is itself a form of pastoral support. Those who have been accustomed to hearing allegations that an “same sex affection”, or a non-conforming gender identity are somehow, unnatural or sinful, have often found themselves or believed themselves to be rejected by the Church.
We’ve found the most effective pastoral support can be found in fellowship with other LGBT+ Catholics on a local, national and international level. This can be found though our regional groups around the UK and also on our website, in our publications, and at our conferences and retreats and connections with other LGBT+ Christian groups in the UK and globally.
Advocacy on behalf of LGBT + Catholics
We work towards establishing, extending and being open to dialogue between LGBT+ Catholics and members of the clergy. This includes meeting with bishops, other diocesan officers, parish priests, religious orders, and lay groups. Where diocesan LGBT+ Ministries exist we aim to support and nourish these. Nationally we partner and engage with other LGBT+ faith-based groups and secular organisations whose purpose or intent aligns with ours.
Over the 50 years Quest has been in existence we’ve experienced the importance of being part of a network and aim to be a link where needed to people with particular needs and people with particular skills and experience, for example, through their work in education, social justice or pastoral care.