Gay priest thanks God for 'black gay/queer/same-gender loving flesh,' calls Trump a racist

A black and gay-identifying Catholic priest has accused the Trump administration of idol worship.

Fordham professor Fr. Bryan Massingale — who, according to his Fordham bio, is a priest with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — received the Catholic Theological Society of America's John Courtney Murray Award in June. Massingale used his acceptance speech, published Tuesday by Jesuit publication Outreach, to attack the Trump administration and praise “sexual diversity.”

‘Black flesh is a place of divine encounter, revelation, and manifestation.’

The Trump administration removed Massingale’s book "Racial Justice and the Catholic Church" from the Naval Academy library in April 2025 as part of a wider crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal government.

“Why? Because that work is in direct opposition to the idolatrous ideology of white so-called ‘Christian’ nationalism that is the heart of the immoral projects being advanced by our nation’s administration,” according to Massingale. “All of this is done in the name of ‘God’ — an idol that sanctifies only white, male, heterosexual bodies.”

“It was banned because I believed that one cannot be an unabashed racist and call oneself a follower of Jesus,” Massingale said. The book is available on Amazon.

Rev. Massingale and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee did not respond to a request for comment. The CTSA declined to comment.

RELATED: WNBA star says black women are ‘amazing’ and deserve equality in strange, race-riddled rant

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The theology professor announced his sexual orientation in 2019 at a Global Network of Rainbow Catholics meeting, according to a Spectrum News NY1 interview. Roman Catholic priests promise during their ordination process to maintain celibacy.

Massingale described his “black Catholic theological project” as “more radical than most often acknowledge.” He later told attendees that they live in “a society and a church where folks are not conditioned to love black bodies.”

Massingale did not elaborate on how Americans should be “conditioned to love black bodies.”

The Murray Award winner led a controversial gay priest retreat in 2018, prompting condemnation from then-Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki. Massingale previously considered leaving the Catholic Church, but told NBC News in 2022, “I’m not going to let the church’s racism rob me of my relationship with God.”

In the same interview, Massingale called for clerical celibacy to be optional and told NBC his dream is a church-sanctioned wedding between two black, gay men or two black lesbians.

“I praise the holy mystery who, through the miracles of creation and incarnation, made black gay/queer/same-gender loving flesh sacred and holy,” Massingale’s speech concluded. “Who has stamped black, queer flesh with the image of God and made it a manifestation of God’s presence and grace in the world.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!