VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is sending new signals about how it intends to minister to LGBTQ+ Catholics in the Pope Leo XIV era, with signs of openness and limitations after Pope Francis ushered in a notable welcome during his 12-year pontificate.
Catholic LGBTQ+ advocates cheered this week when a Vatican working group released a report featuring the testimony of two gay, married Catholics who spoke openly about their sexuality, faith and how the Catholic Church’s negative teaching on homosexuality had hurt them.
Additionally, Leo made clear during a recent airborne news conference that he believed the church’s teachings on social justice, equality and freedom were far more important than its teaching on sexual morality, suggesting he doesn’t intend to prioritize the issue.
At that same news conference, though, Leo indicated he will go no further than Francis on the contentious matter of same-sex blessings. The Vatican has recently renewed its opposition to any local efforts to deviate from the Holy See stance.
For the Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit who has spearheaded the church’s outreach to the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S., the developments signal strong continuity with Francis.
“If the Catholic Church has begun to listen to LGBTQ Catholics as part of its methodology, the church has already moved forward in a significant way,” he wrote recently.
But the signals have prompted criticism from conservatives, who have stressed official Catholic teaching — unchanged during even Francis’ pontificate — that says homosexual activity is “intrinsically disordered.”
A synod document featuring searing testimony
The Vatican working group report summarized the work of experts studying controversial topics that emerged after Francis’ yearslong reform effort. The report has n …