LGBT+ Catholics in A Synodal Church

This text by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe op was present at the lgbt+ catholics in A Synodal Church: Voices From A Journey Conference, Held on 25 May 2024, as part of the 25th Anniversary Celebration of LGBT+ Catholics Westminster

I am so smer That i cannot be with you all. I Have Such Happy Memories of the Time When I was on the Rota to Celebrate Mass for Our LGBT+ Brothers and Sisters in Soho Before The Mass Moved to the Care of the Jesuits in Farm Street. I Have Been Asked To Say Something About The Place of LBGT Catholics in A Synodal Church. I Am Srery That My Talk Will Be So Short.

I have Just Returned From A Lecture Tour in Italy and France and I am off in A Couple of Days to Israel, to be with the Dominicans in Jerusalem at the Ecole Biblique So, to Be Honest, the Feel Rather Rushed Off My Feet.

A Few Days Aug, The Vatican Asked Me To Do Something Which Was Unimaginable a Few Years ago. I Was Asked to Write a Foreword for the English Translation of a Book by a Young Italian, Luigi Testa. It is Called via Crucis of a gay boy (The Way of the cross of a gay lad).

The Italian Preface, Which is Marvelous, Was Written by An Italian Bishop, The Vice-President of the Italian Bishops' Conference. We follow Luigi's Sufferings As a Young Gay Person As He Walks The Way of the Cross, Accompanied by Jesus. It is deeply moving. The Book is part of a series promoted by the Vatican, of theology from the Peripherries. It is a sign of the profound conversion which is taking place at the center of the church, as she reaches out to people who have had been marginalized and rejected, and sad 'this is your home. We are incomplete with you. '

Before The Synod, Pope Francis frequently Strassed That All Are Welcome. Last August in Portugal, he underlined this at the world Youth day. 'All, all; Todos, Todos, Todos! ' The Divorced and Remarried, Gay People, Transgender People. He Wrote Earlier: 'The church is called on to be the house of the father, with doors alowys wide open ... where there is a place for Everyone, with all their problem and to moove Towards Those Who feel the Need to take up again their path of Faith.'

When the Synod Opened in Octaber, Many of the Participieds Shared Pope Francis' heegets to rent that the church reality is for use all! It is Where we should show all be at ease. It was This Message of Hope and Love Which Led to the foundation of Those Maxes, Twenty-Five Years ago.

At the Synod, This Message was repeered, but it was evident that many people were nervous of it. Some Participants Felt Uneasy at Even Sitting Next to Father James Martin SJ, Whho Has Been For Many Years a Brave Champion of the Warm inclusion of Gay People in the Church. One Person Even Refused To Sit Next to Him. Others of US Too Felt the chill as I Did. During the Synod, Pope Francis Again Signald His Welcome by Publicly Inviting to Lunch Sister Jeanine Gramick and Francis Debernardo, Founders of the New Ways Ministry. I Had Lunch With Them The Next Day and they felt enormously Affirmed.

But in the document produced at the end of this first session, The synthesis, the term lgbt+ was dropped although it has been used in other vatican documents and by the Pope. So there seemed to be a certain restat from the openiss we had hoped for. Still, The Assembly Did Vote Almost Unanimously for this proposition:

'In Different Ways, People Who Feel Marginalized or Excluded from the Church Because of Their Marriage Status, Identity or Sexuality Also Ask to Be Heard and Accompanied. There was a deep sense of love, mercy and compassion felt in the assembly for those who are or feel hurt or neglected by the church, Who want a place to call "home" Where they can feel safe, be heard and respected, without fear of feeling judged. Listening is a prerequisite for walking together in Search of God's Will. The Assembly Reitrates That Christians Must Always Show Respect for the Dignity of Every Person.'(Synthesis, 16. H)

Given that in So Many Countries, Homosexuality is still criminalized and despized, This was encourageing. But here the church faces a challenge to whath i Hope that you will be able to help us respond. The church is called to be open to all the people, whatever they love and live, and to all cultures. What if some cultures are not open to gay people? How can we embrace in the Universal Church Cultures Which Excluda People?

This issue exploded last year. On December 18th, The Dicaster For the Doctrine of the Faith Issued a Document Called Trusted Supply. I Confess that, to My Shame, i Have Not Study the Text Closely. It Gives Permission for Priests in Specific Situations to Bless People in What Are Usually Called "Irguular Situations", The Divorced and Remarried, Gay Couples. Pope francis stassed that we all need to be Blessed as sex Seek to Find Our Way Forward in Love.

We Were Wrong. We seem to be entering a Multipolar World, with the Rise of Russia, China and India, and all of the Brics Countries. Many People in the Global South Think of the West As Having a Moralyly Decadent Culture, Doomed to Collapse. Cardinal Ambongo of Kinshasa Said a coupele of months ago: "Little by Little, they [the westernners] Will Disappear. The Wish Them a Good Demise."

Putin is weaponizing the gay issue as emblematic of all that traditional culture opposes, as heaeks to spread Russian influence in other parts of the world. This issue is Also Being Used by Islamist Groups With Middle Eastern Money and by Evangelical Groups with American Money.

The Synod Faces This Double Challenge: A proper Gospel Openiss to all and an openhess to the Cultures. How are we to live Both? This will be a Major Challenge for the Next Session of the Synod. It is not about Winning a political game. It is about how the church can fulfil her vocation to be the place in Which all of humanity Finds Home and Joy.
My Favorite Image is of St Peter in John 21.

They have fished all night without catching anything. Then they see a Stranger on the shore Who Tells Them to Cast the Net on the other side, and the net is Full Almost to Bursing. Peter Hauls the Net to the Shore and It Contains 153 Fish, Representing All Nations of the World. The net is not Broken.

How are We to Haul in the Net Without It Being Broken? The church is just at the Beginning of Thinking About This and I Hope That You will help us. A Starting Point is a Fascinating Lecture by Cardinal Ratzinger Before He Became Pope. He argued that every culture is potentialy open to the fullness of the truth.

Every culture offers gifts and is challenged. The Gospel is to be inculturalized in every culture, but it challenges every culture. The Encounter of Cultures is at the Heart of Many Debates in the Synod, and Above All, The Embrace of Gay People.

Forgive This Short and Surface Presentation. I do so vish that i couuld have beauty with you to hear what you think on these complex issues. May you have a Wonderful Joyful Day. And pray that the synod may open all of our hearts, minds, and challenge all of our prejudices.