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Highlights of DignityUSA’s History,
1990-1999

1990

• In February, DignityUSA’s national office in Washington, DC celebrates its tenth anniversary.
• The April issue of the national newsletter is a special focus issue on "Women in Dignity: Women in the Church."
• On April 3, President Pat Roche sends an Open Letter to the Bishops of the United States in care of Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, President, National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The letter calls upon the bishops to enter into dialogue with Dignity leaders on issues such as AIDS Ministry, Civil Rights, Anti-Gay Violence, Sexism, Prejudice and Homophobia.
• On April 9, Archbishop Pilarczyk responds that he has "many reservations" about meeting with Dignity leaders due to "fundamental differences between the Bishops of the United States and Dignity." He, nonetheless, says "I am open to the possibility of such a meeting but only after you (Roche) meet with the General Secretary of the NCCB, Robert Lynch."
• In May, Dignity/Canada/Dignité holds its Third Biennial Conference in Ottawa.
• In June, Pat Roche meets in Santa Clara (site of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops summer meeting) with Msgr. Robert Lynch to discuss a framework for possible talks with Archbishop Pilarczyk and ongoing dialogue with the NCCB on gay/lesbian issues.
• The July/August issue of the national newsletter is a special focus issue on Dignity’s AIDS Ministry efforts.
  
• From August 10-12, the national Board meets in Washington, DC. Highlights:
  
  • A formal response is formulated raising concerns with the NCCB’s second draft of "One in Christ Jesus: A Pastoral Response to the Concerns of Women for Church and Society."
    
  • A new Chapter-in-Formation Manual is finalized and published to give newly forming chapters a practical, step by step, how-to guide.
• In November the United States Catholic Conference releases a 185-page document called Human Sexuality: A Catholic Perspective for Education and Lifelong Learning. The document includes a section titled: "Persons With a Homosexual Orientation."
  

1991

• The second quarter edition of the national newsletter includes a multi-page "special section" devoted to "issues of civil rights and violence relating to the glb communities."
• The same edition carries the following obituary:

  "Robert Fournier, the first president of Dignity, died in late November (1990) although word of his passing only came to us recently. He was the Pension Benefits Administrator for the City of Beverly Hills, CA at the time of his death and in recent years, devoted much time to an avocation of painting.
  Our sympathy is extended to his lover, Anastasio, his father, brother and sister and all Bob's friends as he continues his journey with God. May he be blessed for all the seeds he nurtured in the early formative days of DignityUSA."

• A new national office 800 number is installed "to enhance services to our chapters and membership."

• In November, Dignity co-sponsors the Call to Action Conference in Chicago.

1992

• In February, the Catholic Organizations for Renewal (COR), of which DignityUSA is a founding member, holds it's first meeting in Chicago.
• The national Board meets in Washington DC from February 14-17. Barry Goodinson, DignityUSA’s first Executive Director, is introduced to the Board. The Restructuring Task Force meets in DC over the same weekend and formulates a Vision Statement as a baseline on which to build the rationale for changes to our national structure.
• On March 6, the Leadership Team of LCCL (Leadership Council of Catholic Laity) officially invites DignityUSA to become a full organizational member.
• From March 27-29, New Ways Ministry’s third national symposium: "Lesbian and Gay People and Catholicism: The State of the Question" is held in Chicago. Three Bishops, Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit; Kenneth Untener of Saginaw, Michigan; and William Hughes of Covington, Kentucky; conduct one of the panels for the some 500 in attendance including 50 Dignity members. The symposium also offers workshops by Past President Pat Roche, past CWC member Mari Castellanos and San Francisco chapter members Jim Schexnayder and Janet Rozanno.
• In June, Dignity releases results of a Gallup Survey, which it co-initiated along with Catholics Speak Out. The survey (released at Notre Dame in conjunction with the semi-annual meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops) shows, among other things, that 78% of Catholics are in favor of gay/lesbian civil rights and 46% agree that "sexual relations between gay or lesbian persons in a committed relationship could be morally acceptable."
• On June 25, the General Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) sends to all U.S. Bishops a document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) entitled Some Considerations Concerning the Catholic Response to Legislative Proposals on the Non-Discrimination of Homosexual Persons. The document urges bishops to oppose gay/lesbian civil rights laws in certain instances such as placement of children for adoption or foster care, employment of teachers or athletic coaches, or military recruitment.
• On July 15, New Ways Ministry releases a copy of the CDF document to the media.
• From July 17-20, the Conference of Catholic Lesbians (CCL) holds its tenth anniversary celebration in Waltham, Massachusetts.
• On July 20, DignityUSA and other gay and lesbian groups stage a formal protest of the CDF document at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, DC.
• On July 25, DignityUSA President, Kevin Calegari travels to Rome for a private meeting with Msgr. Michael Swalina, American assistant to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. During this meeting, he presents Msgr. Swalina with a five-page letter addressed to Cardinal Ratzinger detailing DignityUSA’s objections to the CDF document.
• On July 29, Kevin Calegari holds a press conference at St. Peter's in Rome during which he places the CDF document in an envelope marked "Return to Sender" and pins it to the door of the Palazzo del Sant' Uffizio, headquarters of the CDF.
• On August 3, DignityUSA holds a press conference at the NCCB offices in Washington, DC, and pins the CDF document to the NCCB door in an envelope marked "Return to Sender." DignityUSA also calls upon the bishops to repudiate the CDF document when they meet in Washington DC from November 16-19 and to issue a statement unequivocally supporting basic human rights for all Americans including gays and lesbians.
• On August 18, DignityUSA launches a "Call to Justice" campaign to launch protests around the country to the CDF document. One aspect of the campaign is to support a New Ways Ministry project to gather signatures to be presented to the bishops at their November meeting in DC.
• On September 21, DignityUSA sends each chapter a Call to Justice Chapter Action Kit to offer assistance and guidance in planning local activities throughout the month of October in dioceses around the country in advance of the NCCB meeting in November.
• In late September, Dignity Officers Kevin Calegari and Marianne Duddy meet with Msgr. Robert Lynch, General Secretary of the NCCB, to share concerns about the CDF document and to request that the bishops respond to the document at their November meeting in DC.
• On November 16, in conjunction with New Ways Ministry, the Call to Justice campaign stages a press conference and public prayer service at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC, site of the NCCB meeting.
• At their November meeting, the bishops also reject the latest draft of the Women’s Pastoral.

1993

• On April 15, a majority of delegates approve, by mail ballot:
  • Changing the number of Regions (from 10 to 7) as proposed by the Restructuring Task Force.
  • Dividing national and regional responsibilities between Regional Directors (National) and Regional Coordinators (Regional)
  • Developing a Leadership Conference
  • Changing the way our National Secretary and Treasurer are selected (from election by delegates to appointment by President and confirmation by Board)
  • And other efforts to improve our national By-Laws.
• On April 25, DignityUSA (one of the early supporters of the 1993 March on Washington) has one of the largest organizational contingents in the march. Almost a thousand members from around the country meet for a prayer vigil outside St. Matthew’s Cathedral before being led to the March site by the national officers.
• On June 25, Kevin Calegari and other members of Catholic Organizations for Renewal (COR) meet at the White House with members of the Clinton administration to discuss issues of domestic and foreign policy.

• From August 8-15, Dignity’s presence is felt at the Pope’s World Youth Day in Denver.
• In a statement coinciding with the release of Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritas Splendor (October 5), President Marianne Duddy says that the papal document "indicates that the Vatican is totally out of touch with the possibilities for the church in the modern world.…"
• In December, Father John McNeill’s new book: Freedom Glorious Freedom — The Spiritual Journey to the Fullness of Life for Gays and Lesbians and Everybody Else is published.

1994

• From June 18-25, in conjunction with the 25th Anniversary of Stonewall in New York City, Dignity participates in a variety of events that include:
  • International Catholic Gay/Lesbian Conference attended by over 400.
  • A peaceful & prayerful vigil at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
  • A liturgy for over 1200 hosted by Dignity/New York.
  • The Stonewall 25 International March on the United Nations.
• On November 4-6, Call to Action’s annual meeting is held in Chicago. DignityUSA receives the 1994 Call to Action Award for its efforts to promote understanding within the Catholic community and its promotion of a vision of church in which all persons participate as full and active members.
• November 18: Past President Jim Bussen is honored by Chicago's Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian issues by being inducted into the Chicago Gay and
  Lesbian Hall of Fame.
• On December 24 Dr. John E. Boswell, author, educator and member of Dignity, dies of complications from AIDS. John wrote such ground-breaking books as Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe (1993) and Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality (1980). John was a convert to Catholicism as an adult.

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1995

• At their winter meeting in January the national Board of Directors establishes the Kevin Calegari Leadership Award to recognize individuals for their "outstanding contributions and many years of dedicated service to the Dignity family."
• On February 12, Dignity loses a great leader and beloved friend with the death of Kevin Calegari. His death came just one month shy of his 37th birthday. Kevin served as president of DignityUSA from 1991-1993.
• In February the third book in the trilogy on gay theology by John McNeill is published. It is titled Freedom, Glorious Freedom: The Spiritual Journey to the Fullness of Life for Gays, Lesbians, and Everybody Else.
• The Spring edition of the DignityUSA Journal "is dedicated in the loving memory of Kevin Calegari."

• Solidarity Sunday, a faith-based anti-violence initiative, is inaugurated for the first time on October 8, 1995 by DignityUSA.

1996

• Approximately 80 Dignity members attend the 20th Anniversary Conference of Call to Action, in Detroit MI, Nov 15-17.
• Stage 1 of the Basil Ryan Report is reprinted in the Fall 1996 edition of the Dignity Journal.
• DignityUSA establishes a website: dignityusa.org under the direction of M.A. Ladd.
• In an effort to increase awareness, support and membership, DignityUSA places a half page ad in the Dec 24th year-end edition of the Advocate national magazine.

1997

• National Registry for Holy Unions is established by DignityUSA in July.
• Stage II of the Basil Ryan Report is reprinted in the Winter-Spring edition of the Dignity Journal.
• DignityUSA founder Dr. Pax Nidorf, Ph.D. makes a rare appearance and is guest of honor at Dignity/San Diego's 25th Anniversary Banquet with over 180 in attendance.

• The document Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to the Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers is released by the US National Catholic Conference of Bishops on October 1.
• Charles Cox begins work as DignityUSA's first Executive Director, a paid position, on October 1.
• Bob Miailovich, President, represents DignityUSA in Rome October 10-12 as part of an international movement calling for reform and courage in the Catholic Church.
• DignityUSA holds a press conference November 10 outside the hotel where the NCCB is meeting to call attention to the importance of the October document.

1998

• Dignity urges ABC to support an AIDS episode of the TV program "Nothing Sacred."
• In the Public Eye: Dignity responds to Catholic University's action on Candace Gingrich speech.
• On Sunday, May 24th, New York's Cardinal O'Connor uses his weekly homily to call proposed domestic partners legislation before the New York City Council a threat to the family and marriage. DignityUSA responds to his comments with a public letter to the editors of the New York Post, Newsday and LGNY from National President Bob Miailovich and Executive Director Charles Cox. The NY Blade had the letter under consideration.
• DignityUSA has expressed its concern over the recent steps taken by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and its Committee on Marriage and Family Life to dilute the message and spirit of Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers
• In a July 15, 1998 press statement, DignityUSA finds the advertising campaign supporting ex-gay ministries to be misleading and destructive, and not representative of Catholic teaching.
• More than 30 national religious leaders from many faith traditions, including DignityUSA, gather in Washington, DC July 23rd and 24th to express their support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people in the wake of the July advertisements paid for by the Christian right.
• DignityUSA initiates a Couples Registry.
• The DignityUSA Church Relations Task Force mails a survey on Always Our Children to each chapter.
• Executive Director Charles Cox represents DignityUSA at the mid-September meeting of the National Policy Round Table in Washington, DC. The Round Table, sponsored by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, brings together leaders of over 30 national, policy oriented gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender organizations. This was the Round Table's third such gathering, but the first one to include religious organizations — Dignity and two others.
• Upon the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's election as head of the Roman Catholic Church, DignityUSA joins 140 groups worldwide in a statement A Pope for the Time to Come. The statement challenges the Church by calling for a model of church built on a discipleship of equals and a style of universal leadership that is collaborative, dialogic and open to fundamental change.

1999

• In an historic move, President Clinton proclaims June "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month"
• DignityUSA issues a press release July 13 in response to the Vatican's action of silencing Sr. Jeannine Gramick and Fr. Bob Nugent of New Ways Ministry.

• Re-Imagining Dignity process begins.
• DignityUSA applauds the Supreme Court of Vermont for its recognition that gay and lesbian couples should be accorded the same rights and benefits as traditionally married couples.

Continued…

2000-present

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