Podcast: The Catholics that ministered to those dying of AIDS in the face of fear

JesuiticalDecember 03, 2021

Nursing students treat a patient in the AIDS ward of Saint Vincent's Hospital in the 1980s. (Courtesy: Archives, Sisters of Charity of New York)

In public, the Catholic Church and L.G.B.T. activists were constantly clashing in the 1980s and ’90s over the treatment of gay and lesbians in the church and the institution’s role in responding to the H.I.V./AIDS epidemic. But behind the headlines, there were stories of Catholics responding with compassion and heroism in the face of fear and stigma. Michael J. O’Loughlin, national correspondent for America, joins Zac and Ashley to discuss his new book, Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear.

Links from the show:

Hidden Mercy
How the Catholic Worker Movement inspired one couple to open their doors to people with AIDS
Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols

More: LGBT / Health Care

Jesuitical

A podcast from the young, hip and lay editors of America Media. Hosted by Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis.

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