An article in the Church Times mentions a report by a Vatican working group which identifies some of the ‘profound sense of solitude and isolation’ felt by gay people ‘within both society and (the Catholic) Church’, in something if a step forward for the Roman Catholic Church.
“Believers with same-sex attractions confirm how arduous it is for individuals and Christian communities to reconcile ‘doctrinal firmness’ with ‘pastoral welcome’,” the report says. “These polarised positions, often deemed irreconcilable, result in profound suffering, personal lacerations, and experiences of marginalisation or ‘double lives’… On the other hand, they trigger conflicts, oppositions, and seemingly incurable controversies within the life of the Church.”
The report urged the Catholic Church to move beyond the “simple application of norms”, and overcome “the theoretical model that derives praxis from a pre-packaged doctrine”.
“Sin, at its root, does not consist in the (same-sex) couple relationship, but in a lack of faith in a God who desires our fulfilment,” the report says. “It is a matter of starting from listening to experiences, and fostering pastoral and ecclesial practices of mutual knowledge, collaboration, inclusion, and dialogue among believers.”
Read the full article, which includes the reaction of DignityUSA, an LGBTQ+ church lobbying group, as well as that of more conservative Catholic voices, here.