Richard Cardarelli:  

workers very much! I returned to religious life and had a vast variety of ministries: from working with runaways/teen prostitutes & hustlers in NYC to college chaplaincy and work in Spanish Harlem. Upon ordination to the priesthood, I served as chaplain at Mercy High School and spent the happiest years of my life there; I also helped out with the sacraments at Xavier (my alma mater) and retreat work at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. All through these years I ministered to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community and to persons with AIDS. This work finally brought me into conflict with the hierarchy. I worked full-time for peace and justice and the justice work for gays & lesbians resulted in my being silenced, banned and finally forced into a leave from active ministry and religious life. Following my excommunication from Rome, I worked as a social worker with persons with mental illness; during this time I continued my ministry with the g/l/b/t community and became an Anglican. I finally joined the Anglican Society of St. Francis and after working with the elderly homeless in San Francisco, I now work for a guest house for family members of persons with AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. I am completing my 34th year ministering with Dignity and am an activist for same-sex marriage.