Member
Francis DeBernardo has served since 1996 as Executive Director of New Ways Ministry, a 45-year old national Catholic ministry of justice and reconciliation for LGBTQ Catholics and the wider Church community. He is the author of the booklet, Marriage Equality: A Postive Catholic Approach, and of the newly-published Mychal Judge: ‘Take Me Where You Want Me to Go,’ a biography of the gay Franciscan priest who died in the 9/11 attacks. In October 2015 and 2018, the Vatican credentialed him to cover the Synods on the Family and on Youth, and he reported daily on the proceedings throughout each event. Mr. DeBernardo holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Maryland. He completed doctoral coursework in Rhetoric at Maryland and the Catholic University of America. His research focused on Catholic language and arguments about homosexuality. In 2021, he received correspondence from Pope Francis, affirming New Ways Ministry’s pastoral outreach.
