Cardinal Robert W McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, celebrated Mass for around 500 participants at the Outreach 2026 conference for LGBT Catholics at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall on June 20, 2026.
In his homily, the cardinal said that the Church had often wounded the LGBT community through judgmentalism and exclusion, while highlighting developments under Pope Leo XIV as offering new hope for pastoral practice.
Outreach, founded in 2022 by the Jesuit Fr James Martin SJ, describes itself as a ministry that “celebrates and elevates the gifts of LGBTQ Catholics” and supports families and allies. The annual conference, now in its fifth year, gathered lay people, clergy, theologians and families under the theme “Walking Side by Side”.
Outreach said the conference was held at Georgetown University from June 19 to June 21, 2026, and gathered “LGBTQ lay people, clergy, scholars, artists, educators, students and family members”.