February 13, 2016 Dignity/New York sponsored the showing of the film AIDS: A Priest’s Testament at the LGBT Center in NYC where 50 people gathered for the event. Jeff Stone is shown introducting the main figure in the film, Fr. Bernárd Lynch.
The video is available on You Tube in 3 parts. This is a moving testament of the early days of AIDS and the ministry that Fr. Bernárd Lynch. Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3
The LGBT Center, 208 West 13 Street, Manhattan
Free and open to all, with a Q&A and light refreshments to follow
RSVP Appreciated Event@DignityNY.org
AIDS: A Priest’s Testament
This compelling 1988 documentary film made by Britain’s Channel 4 tells the story of Fr. Bernárd Lynch and the founding of Dignity/New York’s AIDS ministry, the first such pastoral outreach to people with AIDS in New York City. Fr. Lynch was subsequently drafted onto the Mayor of New York’s Task Force on AIDS. The Irish-born priest and psychotherapist was closely involved with the LGBT community and an outspoken activist on behalf of LGBT civil rights. His ministry and his activism led him into conflict with Catholic Church authorities as he struggled to give spiritual comfort to people facing a terrible disease that at the time had no effective treatments. The film movingly profiles the man, his ministry, and a time of unprecedented crisis for the LGBT community, which responded courageously to an epidemic that, though changed, is far from over.