The LGBT Somosgay Association will meet Pope Francis during his visit to Paraguay
Press release of Somosgay, LGBT association of Asunción (Paraguay), of 11 June 2015, freely translated by Andrea Del Forum AmicigayCristiani
Simon Cazal, in his role as a co-founder and executive director of Somosgay*, was invited by the Episcopal Conference of Paraguay, through the organizing committee of the visit of His Holiness Pope Francisco, to participate in the meeting with Pope Francisco recognizing the high impact of the organization in Paraguayan society. The meeting will take place on 11 July at the Leòn Condou stadium at 16:30.
This meeting, scheduled to bring together the representatives of civil society, symbolizes an opening and approach to the LGBT community despite the ultra -care context that has always characterized the Vatican.
While in 2013, in the course of a Vatican press conference, Pope Francis said: "If a person is gay, he seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge it?", The positions of the hierarchy the Church have been in several inconsistent moments. Despite this, from Somosgay we see a positive approach. Our wide social base, after consulting it, invited us to respond in the same terms of opening to dialogue for promotion for a democratic inclusion culture.
We believe that in a country like Paraguay, already seriously damaged by disorder and conflict, it is necessary to start a wider process of dialogue that recognizes the diversity of the positions and the different points of view in our possession. In this regard, we hope that this gesture is not only symbolic but brings with them more substantial progress in the current positions of the Catholic hierarchy of Paraguay.
Somosgay reiterates that there is no contradiction between the Catholic faith and to support the requests of the LGBT movement. This is confirmed by the recent case of Ireland where over 60% of its population, with a Catholic majority, voted in favor of a constitutional modification to ensure the equality of marriage and the full legal recognition of homogenerative families.
As Somosgay, we recognize that this symbolic event leads to repair, in some way, against the rhetoric that local sectors of the hierarchy have caused in all these years. It is not a secondary fact that parts of the invitation letter recognize the impact that our organization has created in the Paraguayan company.
We are also aware of the long way to go and that cultural change requires time, so we recognize that our culture must have a reality in which the churches cease to discriminate gay, lesbians, bisexuals and trans.
Finally, we reiterate our position on the importance of strengthening the full exercise of a secular Paraguayan state, respectful of freedoms and promoter of equality. We will continue to work tirelessly in this direction.
We need attention to urgent health issues, education and access to dignified work, areas where the state remains absent and must be strengthened.
Somosgay will continue to promote the democratic construction of a culture of dialogue, contributing to a different Paraguayan society, plural, peaceful and inclusive, with full equality for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans and their families; In their homes, their schools, their workplaces and free time.
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Invitation letter to the president of "Somosgay" (Asunciòn, 4 July 2015)
"It is time to know how to propose a culture that prefers dialogue as a form of encounter, the search for consensus and agreements, without separating this from concern for a right and without exclusion society. The main author, the historical subject of this process is people and his culture, not a class, a fraction, a group, an elite. We do not need a project made by a few and turned to a few, or a minority that appropriates a common feeling. It is an agreement to live together, of a social and cultural pact".
The Paraguayan Episcopal Conference, through the organizing committee of the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis, recognizes the high impact of his organization in the Paraguayan society, for this reason he invites a representative of the same to participate in the meeting that will take place in the Leon Condou stadium, Saturday 11 July. [...]
We count on the presence of the representative of his organization as a contribution so that this meeting strengthens the development of a culture of coexistence, which allows all the Paraguayas to build a better country.
He receives our cordial greeting and the blessing in the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pbro. Dr. Narciso Velàzquez Ferreira
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* We are the Somosgay organization, we are building an association of solidarity, engaged in the search for effective strategies against homophobia; against HIV and AIDS; in the defense of the rights of people with this virus and in the promotion of human rights in Paraguay.
We are proud of our language and the heritage Guarani, marked by the fight against oppression, inequality, violence, on its path to Yvy Marane'y (a land without evil), paradise on earth and a society in which all the Paraguayans can live, without exclusions and full dignity.
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Original text: Somosgay if reuniri with El Papa Francisco during visiting Paraguay
