Our Core Statement
In wearing the Rainbow Sash we proclaim that we are lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender people who embrace and celebrate our
sexuality as a sacred gift.
In wearing the Rainbow Sash we call the Roman Catholic Church:
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to honor our wisdom and experience;
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to enter into public dialogue with us;
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to work with us for justice and understanding.
Together, let us seek a new appreciation of human sexuality in all
of its diversity and beauty.
Our Core Action
The movement's core action, or ritual expression, involves the
symbol of the Rainbow Sash. The sash is a strip of rainbow
colored fabric which we wear over our left shoulders when we attend the
celebration of the Eucharist. Carrying this symbol, we publicly
claim our place at Christ's table, sacramentally expressing the truth
of our lives, and calling the Church to embrace a new day of integrity
and freedom.
The movement began on Pentecost Sunday, 1998, at St. Patrick's
Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia, when a group of seventy people
attended Mass wearing the Rainbow Sash. Hence, Pentecost Sunday
each year is the primary day when members of the movement don the
Rainbow Sash and present themselves in their local cathedrals to
celebrate the Eucharist with their fellow Catholics. Their
presence at the cathedral is preceded by a letter to the local bishop
explaining what the sash means, and informing the bishop of when and
where they will be present.
