Dignity Young Adults

Welcome

The Dignity Young Adult Caucus (DYAC) is a progressive community of young adult LGBTQIA+ Catholics and their friends. The DYAC was formed as the official young adult group of DignityUSA. We believe that as LGBTQIA+ Catholics our diverse lives and relationships should be celebrated and affirmed with dignity in our Church and Society. The purpose of the Dignity Young Adult Caucus (DYAC) is to create a faith community to nurture and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ lives of our peers, helping guide each other on our spiritual journeys.

Our community is:

  • proud to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and more!

  • proud of our Catholic heritage and spirituality

  • from ages 18 to 39

  • comprised of members primarily in the United States

  • meeting monthly on zoom for discussions, game nights and community

Monthly Meetings

Please join us at our monthly meetings on the last Tuesday of every month at 8:30 pm EST / 7:30 pm CST / 6:30 pm MST / 5:30 pm PST via Zoom. We have game nights, discussions, reflections but most importantly a chance to enjoy the company of our LGBTQIA+ siblings in faith.

Join Us!

DignityUSA

We are a caucus within DignityUSA, the largest & oldest organization of LGBTQIA+ Catholics. In accordance with www.dignityusa.org/purpose, we believe that:

  • “LGBTQIA+ Catholics in our diversity are members of Christ’s mystical body, numbered among the People of God. It is our right, our privilege, and our duty to live the sacramental life of the Church, so we become more powerful instruments of God’s love working among all people“

  • “LGBTQIA+ persons can express our sexuality physically, in a unitive manner that is loving, life-giving, life-affirming, and consonant with Christ’s teaching”.

Leadership

Sam Barnes (he/him or they/them)
I found DignityUSA and joined the Dignity Young Adult Caucus (DYAC) group in 2022. I recently traveled to the Catholic Church's World Youth Day in Portugal as part of a DignityUSA delegation. Our aim was to promote queer inclusivity and acceptance within the church at an international level.I continue to volunteer with Dignity to foster community between folks with shared queer and religious experiences. I look to DYAC to provide a platform for young adults working to promote positive, LGBTQIA+ friendly change within religious spaces.DYAC is open to folks at any point in their queer and/or religious journeys. Please feel free to reach out if you're looking to get connected.

Maureen (she/they)
I found Dignity in 2024, when my life was changing and I was very lonely, wanting connections but without a consistent home base since I was living on the road solo as a travel nurse. From the beginning, I found Dignity USA and DYAC specifically to be incredibly empowering, and the 2025 conference in Dublin, Ohio was the first time I had ever traveled with my wheelchair. Finding acceptance not only as a queer catholic but as a disabled woman made me truly feel like a person with Dignity, and I have been a passionate member ever since.I was raised Catholic, and I still have a great love for much of Catholicism, despite the ways I have been hurt and abused, and I want better for the people who will come after me. That is what I hope to work for in every aspect of my life.If you're looking for a community, we would love to have you.