Oltre i numeri. I cambiamenti in corso nella chiesa cattolica italiana sull’accoglienza delle persone LGBTQ+

Article by Elisa Belotti* published on New Ways Ministry (United States) on November 24, 2025. Freely translated by the gionata Project Volunteers.

The Rainbow Index of Churches in Europe 2025, known as RICE, is an academic research project that evaluates and compares European Churches on their ability to welcome and support LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and asex) people. Commissioned by the European Forum of LGBTI Christian Groups, it was published in its new edition in October 2025.

An interesting fact emerged in the report regarding italy. The overall score of reception of lGBTQIA+ people in European churches rose slightly, from 17.5 Out of 51 in 2021 to 18.5 out Of 52 In 2025. but in The so-called "Inclusivity index" the italian score actually dropped from 37% to 36%, slipping from 17th to 29th place.

A surprise, considering how much the Italian Catholic groups that accompany LGBTQIA+ people have been growing in recent years.

To really understand what is happening in the country, Bonding 2.0 has collected the voices of some people who accompany these paths: Innocenzo Pontillo, president of the La Tenda di Gionata association;
Alessandro Previti, collaborator of the same association and representative of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics; and Luana Gravina, coordinator of the network of LGBTQIA+ Christians in Sicily.

In recent years in Italy we have witnessed two opposite trends: on the one hand the public and political debate has become more hostile towards lGBTQIA+ People; on the other, increasingly visible spaces for dialogue and welcome have arisen within the catholic Church. from your point of view, what are the bottom-up changes that are transforming parishes and communities?

Innocenzo Pontillo: The pontificate of Pope Francis has made visible many pastoral experiences of welcoming lGBTQIA+ people and Their families that already existed in the italian catholic church. it is The evolution of a journey that began many years Ago. the oldest groups are those of Milan and Bologna.

Today in Bologna, groups made up of LGBTQIA+ believers and their parents are an integral part of the diocesan family ministry, led by Archbishop Matteo Maria Zuppi, who is also president of the Italian Episcopal Conference. Similar developments are found in Florence, Bari, Turin, Chiavari and elsewhere. It is a clear sign that what was born from below is also finding its way into the hierarchy.

The same goes for prayer vigils to overcome homophobia and transphobia. They were born in Italy more than ten years ago, when it was not possible to pray publicly on these issues in the Catholic church. The vigils were born from the pain of exclusion, but also from the profound desire to create spaces for listening and hope. Over time they have spread to many dioceses, involving believers, parents and pastors.

After more than a decade of witness and perseverance, the vigils were recognized in the final document of the Synod of the Italian Catholic Church. An important goal: an initiative born from below that becomes part of a shared ecclesial journey.

The Rainbow Index appears not to reflect this progress. Why is there so much distance between official data and what really happens in local communities?

Alessandro Previti: La distanza dipende da due fattori principali. Primo, la metodologia dell’Indice si basa su una lettura parziale, costruita su categorie culturali e politiche che non sempre tengono conto dei contesti nazionali. Secondo, molte realtà italiane non sono strutturate formalmente e quindi non emergono attraverso indagini a campione.

L’Indice fotografa un’immagine dell’istituzione ecclesiale che appare chiusa, ma non riesce a cogliere il movimento nascosto: la vita nelle piccole comunità diocesane, dei gruppi familiari, delle persone consacrate che accompagnano, con discrezione, le persone LGBTQIA+ credenti. Allo stesso tempo, non intercetta i segnali di una Chiesa che, dall’alto, sostiene senza imporre. Siamo un po’ come contadini che irrigano semi, non come chi pianta alberi già cresciuti senza sapere cosa c’è nel terreno. È un processo silenzioso e profondo.

Per capire meglio questa dinamica basta guardare al documento finale del Sinodo della chiesa cattolica italiana, soprattutto le sezioni che riguardano le persone queer. Il documento è stato approvato con il 95% dei voti ed è composto da più di 75 punti e 100 proposte. Tra queste, cinque riguardano specificamente le persone omoaffettive e transgender, tutte approvate tra il 77% e il 95%.

L’approccio italiano, basato sul dialogo personale con vescovi e comunità locali, è diverso dalle strategie più conflittuali adottate da altri movimenti. Che risultati ha prodotto?

Alessandro Previti: In Italy the strategy based on personal relationships has borne fruit. It is a method based on testimony and discussion, not on protest, theological clash or public pressure. Other movements, in Italy and abroad, have chosen more conflictual paths that risk generating bitterness, polarization and division. Dialogue, on the other hand, is a difficult choice. It means talking, but also listening. The outcomes are not always the ones we hope for, but they are the most authentic ones.

I think of the dioceses that today have LGBTQIA+ pastoral care, training courses, spaces for prayer and support. It took time to get here and, perhaps, the results seem like small results from a media point of view. But at an ecclesial level these are enormous steps and, socially, silent revolutions: they shift attention from ideology to pastoral care.

And it is not just the Church that is opening up. Many homoaffective and gender non-conforming people are moving from a position of protest to one of participation: they pray, they share responsibilities in the Church, they live common values. They don't wave flags, but put their entire humanity at the center.

After the LGBTQIA+ Jubilee Pilgrimage of September 2025, can we talk about a new phase for the European queer movement? What new perspectives are emerging in the dialogue with the Church?

Innocenzo Pontillo: The Jubilee pilgrimage of LGBTQIA+ people, their parents and pastoral workers was a courageous act of faith to see where the Church's path has taken us. It was a moment of reconciliation experienced within the Church, after centuries in which queer people were neither seen, nor heard, nor recognized.

Through the LGBTQIA+ Jubilee, this part of the People of God has rediscovered dignity and recognition. What was on the margins is now moving towards the center, bringing with it a profound responsibility: to share one's story of faith, to be present, to offer the goodness and hope matured over years of journey to the Church.

The pilgrimage was a symbolic gesture, but also a profoundly transformative one. It marks not only an opening, but a call to contribute with our voice and our lives to building a Church that is more inclusive and more faithful to the Gospel.

In Sicily this method of dialogue has brought important results. What has this journey taught you about how local communities can change the church From within?

Luana Gravina: The network of Sicilian LGBTQIA+ Christians was born in 2021 to be a meeting place for those who had not yet found a safe space in which to be fully themselves. Over the years we have built a dialogue with the local Catholic Church through retreats, prayer vigils and training courses, showing with our lives that it is possible to be Catholic and LGBTQIA+ without giving up any part of who we are.

We have also built a beautiful friendship with the Archbishop of Catania, Luigi Renna, who encourages us to live as authentic Christians, without compromise, and with the awareness that we are all sons and daughters of God. His presence at our retreats is like a caress from the Church itself, a Church that, like a mother, welcomes everyone without distinction.

This journey has taught us the value of personal relationships born in sincere dialogue. They are relationships that become trust and trust becomes friendship. And it is in the encounter with real people and their stories that prejudices begin to fall: they are the only real barriers that prevent communion. Only through closeness can we help the Catholic Church rediscover its deepest vocation: to be a home for all.

*Elisa Belotti is a journalist and contributor to New Ways Ministry, where she follows issues related to inclusive pastoral care and synodal paths.

Original text: Beyond the Numbers: Italy's Quiet Transformation on Catholic LGBTQ+ Inclusion