Vatican Veto of LGBTQ-Positive Theologian’s Appointment Raises Serious Concerns

The Vatican has intervened to stop a theologian from becoming dean of an Italian seminary apparently over his views on sexuality, which include LGBTQ-positive writings. The debacle has raised concerns about academic freedom in the church and the relationship between the academy and the Roman Curia.

Last fall, the faculty of the Philosophical-Theological College of Bressanone in the Tyrol region of Italy elected Servite Fr. Martin Lintner, a professor of moral theology, as their new dean. However, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education subsequently notified the bishop of the diocese in which the seminary is located, Ivo Muser, that Lintner’s appointment had been blocked. Massimo Faggioli, a theologian at Villanova University, Pennsylvania, reported on the course of events in Commonweal:

“After six months without an answer, Bishop Muser, in Rome for a visit, stopped by the Dicastery for Culture and Education to inquire. From there he was sent to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, where he learned that a decision had in fact been made in January. It was a negative one, and it had been made without seeking dialogue with Lintner’s bishop or with Lintner himself, and without a transparent explanation of the reasons.

“It turned out that the Vatican issued its denial because of certain ‘publications of Prof. Lintner on questions of morality.’ In an agreement with Lintner, who is a priest and member of the Order of the Servants of Mary, Bishop Muser waived the right of hierarchical appeal against this decision. The faculty of the college must therefore elect a new dean.”

According to Faggioli, the Vatican’s veto resulted from Lintner’s writings on sexuality, including support for same-gender unions, as well as transgender identities:

“It has been reported that his book The Rediscovery of Eros (published in German in 2011 and in Italian in 2015) was anonymously denounced in 2012 by two different people. The Dicastery for the Faith investigated; though it didn’t find anything contrary to Catholic moral doctrine, it nevertheless sought clarifications from Lintner. One concerned the chapter on homosexuality. Lintner openly supports the blessing of same-sex unions, has spoken publicly about the need to address the sexual abuse in the Church, and advocates dialogue between Church teaching and research on gender, with the participation of transgender people. He is in favor of moving away from a conception of morality-based norms and prohibitions, such as that which continues to be perceived as the Catholic doctrine on sexuality.”

The Lintner incident has elicited statements of solidarity from German and Italian theologians, as well as theological associations and public institutions in which Lintner participates. He is a former president of both the European Society for Catholic Theology and the International Association for Moral Theology and Social Ethics. Crux reported that the latter issued a statement saying, in part, “The lack of transparency both in the procedure and the decision itself leaves no other possibility than to see in this way of proceeding a demonstration of curial power.”

Lintner has chosen a non-confrontational path, but he has not kept quiet. On July 3, he issued a statement that was firm and dialogical at the same time:

“The Vatican decision against me has led many of the faithful not only to incomprehension, but also to a serious annoyance. It casts doubt on the success of synodality. I am also unhappy to see how other people’s critical or even negative attitude towards the church is confirmed. Those who know me know that I am conscious of belonging to the church, and they know of my constructive-critical loyalty to the ecclesial magisterium.”

He also echoes other theologians’ concern for synodality given the Vatican’s behavior, explaining:

“It hurts me to note how this has reinforced a critical or negative attitude towards the Church among different people. Anyone who knows me knows well how strong my sense of belonging is to the Church, and my constructively critical loyalty to its teaching authority.” 

Citing solidarity with colleagues who have faced similar challenges of academic freedom, Lintner added that his was “not just an individual case, but an institutional problem.”

Faggioli, who studies church history and ecclesiology, wrote that the Lintner incident is concerning because it reveals lingering problems between theologians and the Vatican. It also questions whether the old ways of the doctrinal office have really changed under Pope Francis, who criticized the old ways when appointing that dicastery’s new prefect this year. Faggioli commented:

“The relationship between theology and the institutional Church has seen some changes since Francis’s election. For one thing, there’s been an obvious truce following the John Paul II and Benedict XVI eras. Yet it seems that theology has been more responsive to the pope’s impulses than the Curia has. . .

“[Also,] Francis’s discourse on ecclesial renewal takes place largely without the involvement of theologians, and in particular women theologians. This gives some Curia dicasteries reason to behave, in cases like this, etsi Franciscus non daretur (‘as if Francis did not exist’). The Vatican thus has two parallel tracks that don’t cross.”

The numerous negative reactions and protests have had an effect, however, as the Dicastery for Culture and Education partially backtracked by announcing that the veto is valid “at the moment,” but the dicastery will take the next year to review it, too.

—Angela Howard McParland (she/her) and Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, August 11, 2023

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