Robert Carter (priest)
The Reverend Dr Robert Carter SJ | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Earl Carter July 27, 1927 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | February 22, 2010 (aged 82) The Bronx, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Catholic priest |
| Known for | LGBT rights activism, one of the first Roman Catholic priests in the United States to declare himself gay |
| Parent(s) | Earl and Ila Grace Smith Carter |
Robert Earl Carter (July 27, 1927 – February 22, 2010) was an American Catholic priest and LGBT rights activist.
Early life
Carter was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 27, 1927, the son of Earl and Ila Grace Smith Carter. The Carters were Protestants who worshiped in different traditions. Carter grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, and later Park Ridge, Illinois.[1]
Career
Carter graduated from the University of Chicago in June 1946 and the next day was received into the Catholic Church as a convert. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1954 and was subsequently ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1963.[2] He became a scholar on John Chrysostom.[1]
Carter was gay, and became one of the first Roman Catholic priests in the United States to acknowledge this publicly after he became one of the founders of the National Gay Task Force in 1973 (later the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force).[1]
Death
Carter died on February 22, 2010, at his residence at Fordham University in The Bronx, New York City.[2][1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Robert Carter, SJ - Profiles". LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. March 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- 1 2 Hevesi, Dennis (15 March 2010). "Robert Carter, Priest and Gay Activist, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
Further reading
- Humm, Andy (21 July 2010). "Bob Carter, Priest, Gay Pioneer, Remembered". Gay City News. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- 1927 births
- 2010 deaths
- 20th-century American Jesuits
- 20th-century American LGBTQ people
- 21st-century American Jesuits
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people
- Activists from Chicago
- American social workers
- Catholics from Illinois
- Clergy from Chicago
- Columbia University alumni
- Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism
- LGBTQ people from Illinois
- LGBTQ rights activists from Illinois
- LGBTQ Roman Catholic priests
- Roman Catholic activists
- University of Chicago alumni