For Mary Ann Zollmann, BVM, supporting LGBTQ+ Catholics is based on a simple conviction: everyone deserves to know they are loved by God.
Mary Ann sponsored the grant application for New Ways Ministry, a BVM Ministry Partner. The organization grew from a desire to respond to the needs of gay and lesbian Catholics. Founded in 1977 by Jeannine Gramick, SSND and the late Fr. Robert Nugent, the organization advocates for justice, inclusion, and dialogue within the Catholic Church.
Its work has created opportunities for LGBTQ+ Catholics, religious communities, and church leaders to listen to one another. Through education, New Ways Ministry also challenges misconceptions about LGBTQ+ people, helping move toward greater understanding.
Mary Ann’s involvement reflects how that mission reached the BVM Community. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, BVMs began addressing questions of sexuality more openly. While teaching at Clarke University, she participated in conversations that she believed needed to continue.
Later, as president of both the BVM Congregation and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), she recognized how questions of sexuality, guilt, and acceptance affected women religious.
Working with BVMs Joellen McCarthy and Peggy Nolan, also part of leadership, Mary Ann arranged an educational session for local congregations, inviting Jeannine and and other New Ways Ministry staff members.
Although the local archbishop initially objected, Mary Ann, Peggy, and Joellen explained the purpose of the program and received permission to proceed.
Reflecting on the effort, Mary Ann recalls the shared conviction that motivated the three BVM leaders: “We had a very communal passion for inclusivity in every way.”
The workshop offered sisters an opportunity to explore ethical and moral questions surrounding sexuality while also addressing personal struggles. The goal was to help sisters find a way to talk about their experiences.
“You could see during that workshop that some of our women were getting free of their emotions and began to have a little more to talk about,” she says. “New Ways Ministry was there, and they were clear, they were firm, and they were helpful.”
A Voice for Inclusion
For Mary Ann, the importance of this work became clear through personal encounters: At an event at Loras College, she spoke about Catholicism and homosexuality. A young man caught up to her in the parking lot as she was leaving.
“Tonight is the first night I have heard anyone connected with the Catholic Church officially tell me that I’m loved by God,” he told her.
The encounter reinforced the importance of offering LGBTQ+ people a compassionate, affirming presence within the church.
Although Mary Ann has never served in an official position with New Ways Ministry, she often did presentations and assisted at retreats. She continues to advocate for their mission because “I have a passion for inclusion.”
That passion reflects New Ways Ministry’s desire to understand the church’s moral tradition in ways that affirm every person’s dignity and remind LGBTQ+ Catholics that they, too, deserve to be loved by God.
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