A German archdiocese has censored a Catholic student group after the group issued a document critical of church teachings about sexual morality, among other reform-related items.
A major network of Christian Life communities in Spain has released a manifesto on LGBTQ issues that affirms the right of LGBTQ people to hold positions in their network and commits to training its members to be more inclusive.
A bishop in the Caribbean has called for laws in his country that criminalize homosexuality to be made “null and void.”
For many commentators, Pope Francis’ recent comments reiterating his support for civil unions that recognize same-gender couples were not far enough. Less heard, but quite relevant, are voices who note that Francis simply speaking of LGBTQ people positively makes a tremendous impact in areas where LGBTQ people remain very much at risk.
Responses to Pope Francis’ support for civil unions that recognize same-gender couples have continued to be posted online through media interviews, social media posts, and statements.
The Vatican’s report on ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s pattern of abuse and the clerical culture that allowed it has renewed discussion on the legacy of Pope John Paul II and, more specifically, on his canonization as a saint. One Catholic has raised LGBTQ-related concerns, too, among the others.
Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), a time set aside to mourn the deaths and honor the lives of trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people who died of violence.
Meeting virtually this week, the U.S. bishops reaffirmed that the nation’s episcopal conference remains deeply conservative. In concluding remarks, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) head took aim at President-elect Joe Biden in what one journalist has suggested might become a “showdown” between church leaders and the new administration, in part because of LGBTQ equality.
There is one more item to add to the list of President-elect Joe Biden’s pro-equality record: his Mass attendance at an LGBTQ-friendly parish.
Journalist and papal biographer Austin Ivereigh has offered his opinion about how to interpret Pope Francis’ remarks supportive of same-gender civil unions, namely that the pope has once again refrained from judging and left the faithful to discern how to proceed.