John J. McNeill (1924 or 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American Catholic priest, psychotherapist and academic theologian in the United States, with a particular reputation within the field of

queer theology Queer theology is a theological method that has developed out of the philosophical approach of queer theory, built upon scholars such as Marcella Althaus-Reid, Michel Foucault, Gayle Rubin, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and Judith Butler. Queer theology ...

. McNeill was awarded the National Human Rights Award in 1984 for his contributions to lesbian and gay rights, and was made the Grand Marshal of the New York City Gay Rights Parade in 1987. McNeill was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 1987 at the request of the Vatican, but continued to serve as a Catholic priest in New York City until his death on September 22, 2015.

Biography

Early life and education

Ordained by

Cardinal Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...

through the Society of Jesus in 1959, he obtained a Ph.D. from the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

in Belgium in 1964 and later taught at Le Moyne College in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, and at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in New York City. In 1972, he joined the combined Woodstock Jesuit Seminary and Union Theological Seminary faculty as professor of

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...

, specializing in sexual ethics.

Relation with the gay community

McNeill played a part in widening the activities of

DignityUSA DignityUSA is an organization with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, that focuses on LGBT rights and the Homosexuality and Catholicism, Catholic Church. Dignity Canada exists as the Canadian sister organization. The organization is made up of ...

, a support group for LGBT Catholics. In 1976 he published ''

The Church and the Homosexual ''The Church and the Homosexual'' is a 1976 book by theologian John J. McNeill. The book is notable in the field of moral theology in that it was among the first books to argue that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality. Summary McNeill examin ...

''. The ''New York Times'' described the book as "the first extended nonjudgmental work about gay Catholics, a subject that had long been taboo in official church discourse. It has been credited with helping to set in motion the re-evaluation of the religious stance toward gay people – not only among Catholics but also among those of other faiths – that continues today''.''" According to Charles Curran, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith systematically attempted to silence authors critical of the teaching of the Catholic Church concerning homosexuality, citing the "highlighting" of errors by the Congregation in McNeill's ''

''. McNeill was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 1987 at the request of the Vatican, but remained officially a priest.

Death

He died at a hospice in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, on September 22, 2015, at the age of 90.

Personal life

He was openly gay, and in 2008 he married Charlie Chiarelli, his long-term partner.

In popular media

McNeill was the subject of a 2011 documentary film, ''Taking a Chance on God'', by director Brendan Fay.

Published works

Honors

*Grand Marshal of the New York City Gay Rights Parade in 1987 *The National Human Rights Award in 1984 for his contributions to lesbian and gay rights *The 1989 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Blanton-Peale Institutes of Religion and Health *The Humanitarian Award in 1990 from the Association of Lesbian and Gay Psychologists *The 1993 Distinguished Contribution Award of the Eastern Region American Association of Pastoral Counselors for outstanding contribution to pastoral counseling *The United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches Special Award for his "dedicated work in spreading the Gospel to the lesbian/gay community" *The 1997 Dignity/USA Prophetic Service Award "In Recognition of over 25 years of extraordinary work on behalf of the Catholic Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Community" *The 1999

Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 ...

of San Francisco "Living Saint" Award *The 2005 "Roger Casement and Eva Gore Booth leadership Award" presented by the New York Irish LGBT group Lavender and Green Alliance

References

External links

John J. McNeill websiteArchived
from the Wayback Machine on Jan 2022 *http://takingachanceongod.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, John J. 1925 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits Dissident Roman Catholic theologians Fordham University faculty Former Jesuits American gay writers LGBT people from New York (state) LGBT Roman Catholics LGBT Roman Catholic priests Queer theologians