Bishops’ Liaison to Catholic LGBT+ Groups Explains Pastoral Accompaniment

Brazil is one the largest countries in the world by geography and also has one of the largest populations of Catholics by both absolute numbers and percentage.  So it is no surprise that LGBTQ+ Catholics in Brazil needed to form the National Network of LGBT+ Catholic Groups as a way for the various and diveerse organizations to keep in contact with one another.

Dom Arnaldo Carvalheiro Neto

What is perhaps more surprising is that National Conference of Bishops in Brazil has officially recognized this Network and appointed a bishop to be a liaison with these pastorally-minded organizations.  Such official recognition is rare perhaps almost unique, with the exception of Germany.

The National Network of LGBT+ Catholic Groups is 12 years old, has 23 member organizations, and is an offspring of National Commission of the Laity of Brazil, a consultative body for the bishops’ conference.

Bishop Arnaldo Carvalheiro Neto, who leads the Diocese of Jundiaí happily accepted his appointment as liaison to the network. In a recent article on the diocesan website, Dom Carvalheiro Neto laid out his explanation about the importance of pastorally accompanying LGBTQ+ people. Outreach.faith published the full text of the bishop’s thoughts, both in the original Portugese and English (translation courtesy of America magazine’s Fr. Ricardo da Silva, SJ). Below are some quotes from the bishop’s text.

On accompaniment:

“The process of pastoral accompaniment is much more a journey of pastoral formation that develops methods, adapted to the demands of a true culture of encounter, than properly a theological innovation from the standpoint of Christian Morality.

“In this sense, it means offering, as a bishop, a form of dialogue marked by welcome, attentive listening and discernment, always in light of the teachings of Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium handed down through the centuries.”

On the suffering of LGBT+ people:

“LGBT+ persons are a social group that suffers deep prejudice and discrimination, giving rise to many forms of violence. Brazil has tragically high rates of violence against these persons. Homophobia kills. Not few are the homicides perpetrated against LGBT+ people, motivated by hate speech and religious fundamentalism. Any religious discourse that incites violence against the human person, wounding their dignity as a child of God, is a contradiction of the Gospel.

“The suicide rate among LGBT+ youth is five times higher than among heterosexual youth. Sadly, homophobia is also present within our Christian communities. I will never forget a young gay man who, after recounting his painful experience of discrimination within his faith community, concluded: “The best thing that ever happened in my life was leaving the church.” If, for some, the presence of our LGBT+ brothers and sisters in the church is a cause for scandal, an even greater scandal is to exclude and marginalize them.”

On responding pastorally:

“In this sense, the pastoral accompaniment to be exercised must be guided by practices of attentive looking, listening and closeness. .. . . It is not a matter of being weighed down by legalistic arguments that can reduce the church’s evangelizing action to a set of norms or rules detached from their time. Legalism, when inflamed by the algorithmic dynamics of social media, can contribute to an increase in violence. Rather, it is a matter of stopping before the human person and their pain, of touching the wounds opened by indifference and hatred, of allowing oneself to be affected by compassion and mercy.

“This work marks out a different pedagogical approach, characterized by listening, discernment and the proclamation of the Good News that reaches the ears of LGBT+ people as a sign of hope, never resorting to a language of condemnation.”

Thanks to Outreach.faith for providing this text, which was not covered by any other news source. To read the entirety of the text in English, click here.

—Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry, February 3 2026