Description
Dignity is an organization of Roman Catholic Gays and Lesbians that was founded in 1969. Dignity began as a “healing ministry”
for lesbian and gay Roman Catholics, however the organization now welcomes peoples of all faiths and sexual orientations.This
collection contains a wide variety of materials relating to the San Diego Chapter of Dignity and materials from Dignity USA
which was extant country-wide.
Background
Dignity is an organization of Roman Catholic Gays and Lesbians that was founded in 1969. The San Diego Chapter claims that
the first meetings to establish the Dignity organization were held in San Diego. Dignity began as a “healing ministry” for
lesbian and gay Roman Catholics, however the organization now welcomes peoples of all faiths and sexual orientations. Dignity
lists their mission as carrying out their spiritual mission through weekly services, “providing education to the gay and lesbian
community” through their Dimensions newsletter, providing social reform on the individual and group levels, dedication to
feminist issues, and promoting social events to foster community relationships.
In their Statement of Position and Purpose, Dignity states that they “believe that gay and lesbian Catholics are…numbered
among the people of God” and that gays and lesbians “have an inherent dignity because God created us, Christ dies for us,
and the Holy Spirit sanctified us in Baptism, making us His temple, and the channel through which the love of God might become
visible.” Dignit6y additionally stated that they believe that gay and lesbian people’s sexuality can be expressed in a way
“consistent with Christ’s teachings.”
The San Diego Chapter of Dignity is referenced as Region IX and Pacific Region in documents by Dignity USA.