La Tenda di Gionata: Among the folds of the Gospel, a curtain that welcomes
Sara's interview Spera* A Innocenzo Pontillo, president of Jonathan's tent
The association La Tenda di Gionata was founded on march 18, 2018, On the inspiration of don David Esposito, a prematurely disappeared priest, who brought a great dream to his heart: that the Catholic Church knew how to open himself concretely to listening and welcoming the Christians LGBT+, their families and the pastoral workers who accompany them. Not an initiative "niche", But an ecclesial service that spoke to the whole community, because - as the Gaudium et spes recalls -«the joys and hopes, sadness and anxieties of today's men, especially and of all those who suffer, are also the joys and hopes, sadness and anxieties of the disciples of Christ".
Even the name "Gonate's tent" Is not accidental: it refers to the Prophet isaiah who invites "expand the tent " (Is 54), a sign of a church that does not close but makes space, and to the biblical friendship between Davide and Gionata, a symbol of authentic, deep and freely bonds, beyond any prejudice.
La Tenda di Gionata was born from below, from the desire of many Christians LGBT+, their parents and shepherds and shepherds who did not turn to the other side. Together they chose to build bridges between faith and life, overcoming discrimination and fears. Over the years, the association has become a place of listening and hope: a space where families with LGBT+ children find support, where communities learn to make themselves more welcoming and where faith meets the questions, wounds and expectations of those who too often felt on the margins.
To guide it as president today There is Innocenzo Pontillo, tuscan physiotherapist who works with the elderly And disabled. his is the voice of a believer who learned to pass "from fear to courage, from being judged to recognize one's identity as a gift of God".
Innocent, after almost seven years of walking, La Tenda di Gionata has gone through moments of listening, comparison, pain and hope, building bridges between faith and lived LGBTQ+, between families and church.
A path born from the bottom, made of relationships, testimonies and search for authentic reception.
In this context, what does it represent for la Tenda di Gionata, to be present at this Jubilee? More: to be the only reality engaged in the pastoral accompaniment of homo officers present in the official calendar of jubilation events?
Everything starts from the somewhat "stubborn" dream of Don David, a mountain parish priest who wanted a Catholic church capable of opening the doors to everyone, especially to those who had been put aside. When I started thinking it seemed impossible to me: "Where do you start from?" - I wondered. Then life did the rest.
I met LGBT+people, their parents, many priests and religious who walked us next to us. And the words of Pope Francis - That famous "Who am I to judge?" - They made me understand that it was not an illusion, but lively and concrete Gospel.
In recent years we have behaved like the insistent widow of the parable: we knock, We still knock. sometimes the doors open, others remain closed, but we don't stop knocking.
And the jubilee pilgrimage was born like this: not to create a fence, but to walk inside the church. It is not a ghetto, but a concrete sign of reconciliation and rebirth. It is the opportunity to say that no one should feel unwanted in the Church. For me, the Jubilee is precisely this: to start again, get back on the way, remembering that the house of God is of all his sons and daughters.
How can this stage, although not a point of arrival, become an opportunity to remember the path made, relaunch the commitment and imagine the future with courage?
For me the pilgrimage it is the photo of a journey and a story that has existed for decades. Already in the 1980s the first groups of LGBT+ believers were born in Italy who said: "We are also there", but only today, in some dioceses, accompanying paths begin in ordinary pastoral care. It is not all solved, but we are no longer invisible.
When we cross the Santa Porta we will bring faces and stories: catechists, ministries, parents, religious and religious who already live and serve the Church. And we will also bring the wounds: I think of Alfredo Ormando, which in 1998 set fire to st. peter's Square Because he could not reconcile faith and identity. we Will also walk for him, and for many like him.
Our message is simple: nobody must be excluded from The Gospel. sometimes we feel like "discarded stones", But the Lord reminds us that"the stone discarded by the manufacturers has become corner head»(Psalm 118,22; cf. Mt 21,42).
The future? I don't have the recipe in my pocket, but I know one thing: the Catholic Church has not stopped on these themes, and it will not stop. We saw him in the steps of Pope Francis, and we see him today in pope Leone who, meeting father James Martin, wanted to remind the whole Church that the accompaniment of LGBT+ people is not an optional, but a profound reason for the pastoral service. In fact, many people have been moved away from the message of salvation of Jesus over the years due to prejudices and ignorance.
And this pilgrimage, with its colors and faces, will show everyone that the free invitation of the Gospel is really for todos, todos, todos.
* Sara hopes, born in 1986, she graduated in Communication Sciences - Mass Media Address - at the University of Siena. For over nine years he has been working in the communication sector, taking care of creating specialist editorial contents, keeping institutional relations and events for the world of company and the third sector.
His experience ranges from issues such as disability, public construction, associations, protection of minors, environment, health and legality. He currently holds the role of press office for a well -known Italian company active in the plant sector based in Novara. He firmly believes, in fact, that every reality, productive or associative that is, if aware of his role in the community, can contribute concretely to enhancing each person.
