LGBTQ Catholics subject of emotional debate at synod, participants say | National Catholic Reporter
The second week of Pope Francis’ closely watched summit on the future of the Catholic Church included emotional debates among bishops and lay delegates over whether the church’s ministries could be expanded to include LGBTQ persons.
In interviews with multiple delegates from three different continents, NCR has confirmed that during the Synod of Bishop’s Oct. 9-12 discussions on the theme of “communion,” tensions began to emerge over how the church might extend its welcome to LGBTQ Catholics and whether use of the acronym “LGBTQ” was even appropriate.
For at least five years, Vatican documents have regularly used “LGBT” as a common acronym to refer to the gay community. Soon after his election in 2013, Francis became the first pontiff to regularly use the word “gay” to describe gay persons, rather than talk of people who experience “same-sex attraction,” the term used by the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
According to the interviews, given under the condition of anonymity due to the synod’s rules on confidentiality of the assembly’s discussions, speeches about LGBTQ Catholics were given by delegates from a range of areas, including Eastern Europe, Africa and Australia. To varying degrees, the remarks expressed skepticism toward efforts to better integrate LGBTQ Catholics into the church’s ministries.
Those interventions were then reportedly countered by several personal testimonials calling on the church to urgently reexamine its approach to LGBTQ persons, which were reportedly met by open applause from synod delegates.