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Gay and Catholic: Memories of Trauma and Compassion During the AIDS Crisis
June 03, 2022
Journalist Michael O’Loughlin digs into the history of the AIDS epidemic and the Catholic Church in his podcast Plague, and the companion book Hidden Mercy.
Michael O'Loughlin, courtesy Micheal O'Loughlin
“These are heavy stories” June 03, 2022
For ten years religion reporter Michael O’Loughlin covered the Catholic beat for America Magazine, a Jesuit publication.  His coverage led him to question an unexamined chapter of church history: the Church’s role at the height of the AIDS crisis.  O’Loughlin shares what he learned and how that painful period of suffering, loss, and anger led to a shift inside and outside the Church to make it more welcoming.  

Michael O'Loughlin. Journalist, author, commentator, and speaker who covers religion and politics with a particular focus on the Catholic Church. He is the author of Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear. O'Loughlin is also the host of Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church, from America Media, a Jesuit media project.


Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear. Image courtesy of Broadleaf Books.
Hidden Mercy
Broadleaf Books
Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church. Image courtesy America Media
“I felt like I was being thrown out of my home” June 03, 2022
In this first episode of the limited series podcast Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church hosted by O’Loughlin, we meet David Pace who shares his first memories from the early days of the AIDS crisis.  Pace recalls the day he and his partner Bill discovered they were infected with HIV and turned to the Church for spiritual comfort.  Initially, they were welcomed. But things changed in 1986 when AIDS support groups like Dignity were asked to leave parishes and Roman Catholic leaders publicly opposed public health measures that would prevent the spread of the disease.  O’Loughlin tells stories of private acts of mercy and compassion from clergy and laypeople.



Our theme Breath Deep is copyright MC Yogi.
 
This week's closing music, New Hope, by Audiobinger, is
used under a Creative Commons By Attribution 4.0 license.

All additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Remixes and sound design by Dissimilation Heavy Industries.