The Rainbow Sash Movement is an organisation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Catholics, with their families and friends, who are publicly calling the Catholic Church to a "conversion of heart around issues of human sexuality".

History in Australia

The Movement was established in 1998 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia in response to the refusal of London's Cardinal

Basil Hume George Basil Hume OSB OM (2 March 1923 – 17 June 1999) was an English Catholic bishop. He was a monk and priest of the English Benedictine monastery of Ampleforth Abbey and its abbot for 13 years until his appointment as Archbishop of Wes ...

, and Melbourne's Archbishop

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . I ...

and New York's Cardinal John O'Connor, to provide communion to two openly gay Catholic men, one a priest, in 1997.Rainbow Sash Movement History in the United States, Australia, and England
On Pentecost Sunday 31 May 1998 a group of 70 people attended Mass in St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, wearing a Rainbow Sash. The movement acted again on Pentecost Sunday in 2002.

History in the United States

The Rainbow Sash Movement was taken up in US in 2000, with Melbourne-based Michael B. Kelly as the group's international spokesperson. The movement is largely based out of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The movement acted on

Pentecost Sunday Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of ...

in 2001- 2007, and 2010. In 2012 the movement criticized the Knights of Colombus for supporting and funding homophobic messaging and campaigns. The organization also acted in October 2010 in Collegeville, Minnesota, and in October 2013 in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

. As of 2023, the movement is still ongoing.

History in England

English Catholics have also taken part in the movement since the late 1997. The movement was ongoing as of 2010.

Activity

The Rainbow Sash itself is a strip of a rainbow-colored fabric which is worn over the left shoulder and is put on at the beginning of the

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. The members go up to receive

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

."Rainbow Sash Movement at London's Westminister Cathedral"
If denied, they go back to pews and remain standing, but if the Eucharist is received then they go back to the pew and kneel in the traditional way.
Pentecost Sunday was chosen because the day is "a celebration of God's gifts", including the gift of

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

. The sash is meant to serve as an act of celebration rather than an act of protest.

References

External links