Thanks Pope Francis, because your words have been light for us Christians LGBT+
Testimony of Lorenzo Gabriel Paoletti
I would like to share with you my personal experience with Pope Francis and the birth of the Hub Luce Group.
In February 2024 I had the immense honor of receiving a written letter of his own fist from his holiness Pope Francis, in which he encouraged me to continue my journey, making sure that Jesus and the Virgin Mary would open every door. That gesture, so personal and profound, marked a turning point in my spiritual and human life.
On March 27 of the same year, I had the grace to meet Pope Francis in person. In that meeting I saw his living humanity, the mercy of a heart that knows how to make close, and the conscious choice of being among the last. It is no coincidence that Francesco's name has chosen: it is the sign of his mission.
Driven by that support, I embarked on a path to build, in my land of Tuscia, a welcoming and dialogue space for the LGBT community, in collaboration with sensitive and open religious figures.
After the media scandal of last June, linked to an expression attributed to the Holy Father, I felt the duty, as a member of a LGBT Catholic pastoral care, to write to him
. His response, which I keep with respect, is a message of profound humanity and Christian vision. In it Pope Francis wrote: "The human sensitivity with which I encourage and promise with a culture of inclusion in the Church and society."
For this reason, I now want to make these words public, so that they can be light and guide for many who, like me, seek an authentic and inclusive path of faith.
It is with profound gratitude that we want to share as much as the encouragement, expressed in the letters between February and March 2025 has represented a real turning point for us.
The words of Paps Francesco gave life and strength to light Hub, the first center of Catholic Christians LGBT in Tuscia, a project that without its spiritual support would never have seen the light.
On January 13, on the occasion of the Dialogue day between Fede and Mondo LGBT, we organized an awareness demonstration that marked the beginning of a new journey.
This courage was born from the courage that gave me his holiness: the choice to be on the side of the last, of the refugees, of those who are labeled and put on the margins. Pope Francis has never made distinctions, even between those who often divide themselves.
Luce Hub is inspired by the inter-sanctual model that Pope Francis has promoted, opening up to other religions, and is based on the vision of the encyclical "Laudato Si '", which taught us to look at the world and mother earth with new eyes. His testimony has allowed us to build a welcoming, listening and dialogue space, where faith and identity are not in opposition, but walk together.
For this reason, today, we want to say only a word: thank you, with a capital G.
Without the encouragement of His Holiness Luce Hub would not exist. And in Tuscia there would be no group like ours, witness of a Gospel lived in truth and inclusion.
