Ireland

Catholic Priest

b. April 30, 1947

“Sexuality and spirituality are seen … in continuous and consistent conflict.”

Fr. Bernárd Lynch is a gay Irish Catholic priest, activist and author. Renowned for his work with the HIV/AIDS community, he founded the first AIDS ministry in New York City in 1982. He was the first Catholic priest in the world in an out same-sex partnership.

Lynch was born in Ireland. His father was a deliveryman for the local railway. Lynch attended seminary outside of Belfast and was ordained in 1971 at Saint Colman’s Cathedral Newry. After a brief mission in Zambia, he returned to Ireland and came out to another priest, who suggested he go to the United States to pursue graduate studies.

After arriving in New York City in 1975, Lynch completed an interdisciplinary doctorate in counseling psychology and theology from Fordham University and New York Theological Seminary. He began serving as a priest at Saint Gabriel's parish in the Bronx. For 15 years, he served as theological consultant to Dignity New York, an organization for LGBT Catholics and their friends.

In 1982, during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Lynch founded the city’s first AIDS ministry program at Dignity New York. The ministry was available to all, irrespective of sexual orientation, race or religion. It aided thousands of people with HIV/AIDS, providing spiritual healing by reconciling individuals with their faiths and their families and by guiding them through their deaths. He also served for 10 years on the Mayor of New York's voluntary Task Force on HIV/AIDS. Despite intense opposition, Lynch became increasingly visible and outspoken as the epidemic worsened. He publicly campaigned and testified for the 1986 New York City bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in jobs and housing.

Lynch pursued his advocacy at great personal sacrifice. In June 1987, the archdiocese denied him his canonical rights, thus banning him from serving as a priest in the United States. Shortly thereafter, a false sexual abuse charge was filed against him. Cross-examination in court revealed that politically motivated actors had forced the accuser to testify against his will. Lynch was fully exonerated.

In January 2017, Lynch married his longtime partner, Billy Desmond, in Ireland. On their wedding day, the New York City Councilhonored Lynch’s service to the LGBT and AIDS communities with a Proclamation. In 2019 the Irish government presented him with a Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor bestowed on citizens abroad.

Lynch has published a number of books and articles. His life and work are featured in three documentary films: “AIDS: A Priest’s Testament,” “A Priest on Trial” and “Soul Survivor.”

Prime Minister of Ireland

b. January 18, 1979

“Our democracy is vibrant and robust and can survive divisive debates and make difficult decisions.”

Leo Eric Varadkar is the first openly gay Taoiseach (prime minister) of the Republic of Ireland. He is also Ireland’s youngest prime minister and the first of Indian extraction.

Varadkar was born in Dublin, the nation’s capital, and raised Catholic. His father, a Hindu, was born in Mumbai, India, and immigrated to the United Kingdom to work as a doctor. His mother, a Catholic, worked as a nurse in Slough, England. The couple moved to Dublin six years before Varadkar was born.

Varadkar attended secondary school at The King’s Hospital, a boarding school administered by the Church of England. He joined Young Fine Gael, the youth wing of Fine Gael, the Irish liberal-conservative and Christian democratic political party. Varadkar maintained his party affiliation. 

Varadkar studied medicine at Trinity College in Dublin and worked as a non-consultant hospital doctor before qualifying as a general practitioner. He earned his first significant political post in 2004 as a member of the Fingal County Council, located north of Dublin City, before serving as deputy mayor. 

As a longtime statesman, Varadkar has held important and diverse roles within the Irish government. In 2007 he was elected to the Teachta Dála, the lower house of Ireland’s parliament. He has since served consecutively as minister for transport, tourism, and sport; minister for health; and minister for social protection.

Varadkar came out in 2015 during the referendum that legalized same-sex marriage in Ireland. In June 2017, when the country formed its 31st government, he became Ireland’s prime minister and minister for defence at the age of 38.

In becoming Ireland’s first gay prime minister, Varadkar also became the world’s fourth openly gay head of government. As Taoiseach, he also leads his political party, which promotes their support of LGBT rights and families by displaying ads in the Gay Community News (GCN). 

By January 2018 Varadkar’s approval rating had reached 60%—the highest of any Irish prime minister in 10 years. A few months later, TIME magazine named Varadkar to its list of the 100 Most Influential People of the year. In May the predominantly Catholic country voted to legalize abortion. Varadkar described it as “the culmination of a quiet revolution.”  

Varadkar lives with his boyfriend, Dr. Matt Barrett, a cardiologist. In 2018 the couple marched hand-in-hand in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade.