Priests and Laity Disappointed that LGBT Families Are Absent from World Meeting of Families Preparations
Pope Francis with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
Pope Francis has confirmed that he will visit the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August, and Irish priests, lay Catholics, and politicians are expressing hope that LGBT and other “non-traditional” families will be included in the global event.
At a Vatican ceremony in late March, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin and two Irish families met with Pope Francis. The pope confirmed with them that there would be a papal visit to Ireland during the World Meeting of Families (WMF).
Ireland’s Association of Catholic Priests said it was disappointed that families of “different make-ups,” including LGBT ones, were not included in that Vatican meeting, reported The Irish News. The priests’ group is also concerned about the WMF’s spotty record on LGBT issues, including questions about why LGBT-related content was removed from preparatory materials.
The lay-led Association of Catholics in Ireland also called for an inclusive event. The Association said they are concerned by “recent interventions by some conservative elements in the church who appear ready to obstruct” Pope Francis’ more pastoral approach. In response to such interventions, The Irish Times reported that the Association is hosting its own pre-WMF forum where speakers “will represent family groups of all backgrounds and circumstances.”
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who is gay, said the Government would let WMF organizers know that “families in all forms should be celebrated,” while respecting the Church’s religious liberty, according to PinkNews. Recently, similar calls for LGBT inclusion were made by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone and former Irish President Mary McAleese.
Commenting on the pope’s visit and the state of the Irish Church, a founder of the Association of Catholic Priests, Fr. Brendan Hoban wrote in The Irish Examiner:
“While Ireland moves on without us, we’ve [the Church] failed spectacularly to navigate the impulses of the modern world and seem content to maintain the moat that separates us from an Ireland that has changed (and continues to change) beyond recognition. . .In such a scenario, the Catholic Church in Ireland needs two things: To face the reality of life in a changing Ireland, and to listen to what the people are saying. The flow of the tide of the modern world doesn’t mean the ebb of the tide of Catholicism. We need to learn, to listen, and to hear.”
Calls for LGBT families to be included at WMF are continuing to increase, and have even been echoed by at least two bishops (see here and here). These voices recognize with Fr. Hoban the dire place the Irish Church is in and the need to adopt a humble, listening posture. But it seems unlikely WMF organizers and other church leaders think similarly.
As long as questions about why LGBT-related images and text were removed from WMF preparatory materials and why a bishop was censored in a video for even acknowledging LGBT families exist remain unanswered, a shadow will darken what could be a true celebration of familial love. Pope Francis should step in and ensure that “all are welcome” becomes more than an empty phrase at the World Meeting of Families.
—Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, April 4, 2018
Some things never change. We in Philadelphia went through the same thing. No included in the WMF. Families of LGBT children were not included and we had to meet on our own in a Protestant church across the street from the WMF meeting. Good luck to Ireland in trying to change minds.
Robert, I remember Philadelphia back in 1976, long before the WMF meeting, when the Eucharistic Congress took place. Lots of well known people from around the world, in meetings during the Congress, talking about hunger and justice issues throughout the world. But nothing about LGBT people. Fortunately, there was an independent group that had space saved in front of one of the buildings to demonstrate for various issues. On one of the days, people from Dignity, including Jeannine Gramick, were there, gathered for a Mass at which Jeannine likened the situation of gay people to Hebrews being delivered from bondage in Egypt during the Exodus. I was standing amid the people there, and there was another priest dressed in a collar. We engaged in a conversation and walked together to a couple places in the city. He was the editor of the L’Osservatore Romano.
Also, during that same visit, members of the Philadelphia chapter of Dignity gathered in one of the churches to pray the Rosary. I found out from one of the members that they had made a contribution to the work of the Archdiocese in the name of Dignity, but the check had been returned because it was from Dignity.
Philadelphia may be the city of brotherly and sisterly love, but the leaders of the Church there apparently have never gotten the message.
It is unfortunate that so many RC Church leaders seem to be out of touch with the reality of so many people. Meanwhile, people are moving on without them. And I guess one could say that the Spirit of God, being free to move where she will, does not need the RC Church to work in people’s lives.
John you are on the mark. We met as catholic parents of gay children with Archbishop Chaput. He told us we should not support our children in their “lifestyle” (this shows he does not get it).
I don’t understand why GLBTQ families are being excluded from the WMF meeting, why it takes so long for understanding given the research that has been done by official medical and psychological associations, GLBTQ’s who have consulted with priests and bishops and honestly related their gradual and painful road to acceptance of themselves as God created them. What is so hard to understand?