A monthly column on "Pastoral care with homo-affective people" starts in the diocesan weekly "Il Nuovo Amico" of the diocese of Pesaro-Fano-Urbino.

Text sent to us by Roberto Mazzoli, director of the weekly The New Friend of the diocese of Pesaro-Fano-Urbino

After a few months of preparations, last February 15, 2026 he debuted in the weekly "The New Friend” (of the diocese of Pesaro-Fano-Urbino) a monthly space of “Pastoral care with homo-affective people”, edited by Silvia Zucchini.

For the first time, a newspaper from the Fisc circuit (Italian Federation of Catholic Weeks) reports periodic news on the path that the Pesaro Church has undertaken in supporting LGBT Catholics. In fact, just over a year ago, a group of Christian families with LGBT children was born in the dioceses of Pesaro and Fano, as a culmination of a similar pastoral experience in the Archdiocese of Bologna.

From an editorial point of view, the idea is to try to make readers understand the dream of a welcoming Church and is an opportunity to address issues that are still very delicate.

The column is one of the many fruits that have sprouted in the context of the recently concluded Jubilee of Hope, and goes to
add to other significant experiences that affect our dioceses, such as the "Prayer Vigil for overcoming homobitransphobia" which was held in Fano last May: a moment strongly desired by the archbishop of Pesaro and Urbino, Sandro Salvucci and the bishop of Fano, Andrea Andreozzi.

"We had the opportunity to listen to the stories of men and women discriminated against", says Don Francesco Pierpaoli, a priest from Fano, "since then a spotlight has been lit on contempt towards people with a different sexual orientation and gender identity".

Today, thanks to bishops Sandro Salvucci and Andrea Andreozzi, the project has been included in the family pastoral care of the Pesaro metropolis. The "Families on the move" group from our dioceses is accompanied not only by Don Francesco Pierpaoli, but also by Maria Teresa Turla, sister of the "Magnificat Tent" of Pesaro.

The path that has been opened is still at the beginning, but this column aims to be a precious place to give voice to a Church that listens to the experiences of people walking on the frontiers of our existence.

> The page of the new column of the NEW FRIEND of 15 February 2026 (PDF file)