Following the highly engaging session on sexuality and the Church, the MSSP Oratory Youth is pleased to invite you to our second session on the presence, role and contribution of the LGBTIQ+ community within the Catholic church. In our upcoming event, we will delve deeper into the approach of the Catholic Church towards the LGBTIQ+ reality as well as the different dynamics and challenges of its relationship with the LGBTIQ+ community. We will also explore the struggles and challenges faced by LGBTIQ+ individuals who yearn to live harmoniously their faith and sexuality, but also the gifts which they bring to the Christian community. Furthermore, we will discuss what kind of bridges are presently being built and still need to be created between these two realities often represented as antithetical and contradictory. These are some of the aspects we will be exploring collectively as we engage in a healthy discussion and share views on a delicate and complex theme which applies to personal journeys and lived experiences of different persons. A panel of esteemed speakers has graciously accepted our invitation to share their knowledge and experience and help us in our quest for a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. 

The event is scheduled for Wednesday 10th January 2024 and will take place at Vecchia Napoli, Salini, with the opening time being 7:30 pm. To cover the costs of this event we are kindly asking for a €11.50 donation that would include food and drink. This event is open to youths 18 and over. Alcohol will be served.

We look forward to having you with us for an insightful and fruitful dialogue that promises to leave a lasting impact on all those who attend!

Testimonies from previous events

  • ”

    We live in a world where many have their own opinion, but we rarely give each other the chance to develop it in a healthy way. Being able to listen and discuss particular topics with other youths can help widen your perspective as you become aware of a reality you might have not yet considered.

    Martina Laferla
  • ”

    Why bother listening to a talk? Why not instead simply email the text to every potential member of the audience? Bible&Beer have created new connections amongst participants and key speakers, and spread curiosity, understanding, empathy and excitement through words. It gave words the life they deserve.

    Bernard Grech
  • ”

    Bible and Beer … Personally, I think it’s a wonderful initiative to have a conversation and have your voice heard in a setting that is safe but most importantly, judgment-free. I believe that this concept has the potential to develop to contribute to the much-needed social change in today’s world.

    Roberta Cassar
  • ”

    It was a very different and enriching experience – I believe that it is very necessary for the Church in Malta to create such spaces of dialogue and encounter where different ideas, thoughts and reflections can challenge and give life to our Christian faith in the 21st century.

    Matthew Grech
  • ”

    Despite the fact that I have a bigger affinity with beer than with the Bible these events intrigued me from the start.

    Having a safe space to discuss current hot topics is rare nowadays and this event has provided just that, with the extra benefit of knowledgable and engaging speakers to keep the conversation flowing.

    Julian Vella
  • ”

    A true experience of reciprocal hearing done in great humility. Bible & Beer is a true experience of fraternal dialogue, where hot topics were discussed, taboo’s abandoned and we could all share our thoughts, listen to expected but above all receive the gift of one another as we are, with our own stories, perspectives and understandings.

    Ben Flores Martin
  • ”

    It is a very enjoyable experience which always leaves you wandering why there isn’t more like it.

    Alec Grech
  • ”

    The energy I felt and the genuine philosophical enthusiasm of so many young people was exhilarating. It was a breath of fresh air to share a conversation with people who are sincerely ambitious to make the world around them a better place. That kind of hopefulness in the good of this world has become very rare nowadays.

    Mark Lawrence Zammit

MEET THE PANELISTS

Fr Karm is a member of the Missionary Society of St. Paul for the past 45 years. He was entrusted with several roles, including spiritual director at the Missionary College of St. Paul as well as director of CAMYouths and has always been involved in youth ministry. Working with LGBTIQ+ is not new to him as he also worked with Drachma and others within the gay community. He carried out missionary work in Pakistan and Peru’ and is also renowned for his musical talent, composing several songs with a spiritual meaning.

Christopher is a bisexual man and committed Catholic, and married since 2018 to Maltese author and theatre director Tyrone Grima. He is a historian and lecturer by profession, and currently working as the Assistant Secretary General of the Malta Union of Teachers. Since 2013, Vella has been the third Coordinator of Drachma LGBTI+ and a representative on the National LGBTIQ Consultative Council. Additionally, he co-founded the European Network of Parents of LGBTI+ Persons (ENP) and serves as Co-Chair of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics (GNRC). He focuses his work on pastoral ministry and outreach, as well as dialogue and building conversations and bridges with religious and secular spaces.

Angele is a resident academic at the Junior College and a lecturer in gender and sexuality within the Department of Gender and Sexualities at the University of Malta. Her main research interests are religion, sexuality and gender and conducted her PhD research in the anthropology of religion and sexuality with LGBT Catholics in Malta and Palermo. She is also an activist for social justice and civil rights with Moviment Graffiti and was previously involved in other organizations, including the Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement.