John J. McNeill (Chicago, IL, 2005)
John J. McNeill is a psychotherapist, moral theologian, writer and lecturer, and a towering figure in the gay rights movement. For more than 30 years, he has devoted his life to speaking and writing about gay and lesbian equality and spirituality. In 1976, in response to his ministry and writings, McNeill was silenced by the Vatican. In 1988, after refusing to obey a further directive from the Vatican ordering him to give up all ministry to gays and lesbians, McNeill was expelled from the Society of Jesus, of which he had been a member for 40 years.
McNeill's published work, which both challenges Catholic teaching on homosexuality and discusses gay and lesbian spirituality, includes The Church and the Homosexual (1976); Taking a Chance On God: Liberating Theology for Gays and Lesbians, Their Lovers, Friends and Families (1988); Freedom, Glorious Freedom: The Spiritual Journey to the Fullness of Life for Gays, Lesbians and Everybody Else (1995); and Both Feet Firmly Planted in Mid Air: The Spiritual Journey of John McNeill (1998). For 25 years, McNeill held retreats on gay and lesbian spirituality at Kirkridge Retreat Center in New York. In 1974, McNeill co-founded the New York City chapter of Dignity. His archives are housed at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.