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“Taking A Chance on God: The Story of Pioneer Gay Priest John McNeil” with Filmmaker Brendan Fay
May 2, 2013 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT
The Nazis imprisoned him. The Vatican tried to silence him. Celebrate the powerful story of renegade gay priest John McNeil and the founding of the outcast gay Catholic group, Dignity. Taking a Chance on God (2011) follows the extraordinary life of 87-year-old John McNeill from his Buffalo, NY boyhood through his experiences as a Prisoner of War in Nazi Germany, his Le Moyne College years as Jesuit professor and Vietnam peace promoter, leading gay rights advocate, and loving partner of 47 years to Charles Chiarelli. McNeill, author, founder of the LGBT Catholic group Dignity/New York, and a gay community leader during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, refused to be silenced by the Vatican on LGBT issues. This resulted in his expulsion from the Jesuit priesthood.