Associated Press.“Father Judge’s selflessness is a reminder of the sanctity that the church often overlooks in LGBTQ people,” Martin said. “Heaven is filled with LGBTQ people.
All the church has to do is start to recognize this.”Judge grew up in Brooklyn, and he was the son of Irish immigrants. He became a priest in 1961.
After recovering from alcoholism through Alcoholics Anonymous, he became involved in ministering to marginalized groups. In 1989 he founded one of the first Catholic HIV ministries that visited hospitalized patients and their families.
He joined the city’s fire department in 1992.Only a few friends knew Judge was gay. The fact became more known after his death.