In starkly different tone, Vatican report says gays should be welcome

Reporting from Rome —  Cardinals and bishops summoned by Pope Francis to the Vatican to discuss the modern family have said that homosexuals should be welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church and that heterosexual civil unions have “positive” aspects.

Without shifting on church doctrine, a document that was released Monday summing up views expressed halfway through a two-week synod offers a starkly different tone to the traditional Catholic take on gays and civil unions.

Homosexuals, the document states, “have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community.” And the paper asks: “Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities?”

The document cautions that “unions between people of the same sex cannot be considered on the same footing as matrimony between man and woman,” and highlights “the moral problems connected to homosexual unions.”

But it adds that in gay relationships, “there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners.”

The document moves the Catholic Church away from its traditional insistence that even if a gay orientation is not sinful, gay sex is “intrinsically disordered.” It follows Pope Francis’ response, “Who am I to judge?” when he was asked last year about his views on homosexuality.

“This marks a new pastoral style that is more compassionate and affirming,” said Father Tom Reese, an analyst at the National Catholic Reporter.

“In pastoral terms, the document ... represents an earthquake, the ‘big one’ that hit after months of smaller tremors,” wrote prominent Vatican expert John Thavis on his blog.

Chad Griffin, president of Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT rights group in the U.S., told the Associated Press that the document set “a dramatic new tone from a church hierarchy that has long denied the very existence of committed and loving gay and lesbian partnerships.”

The document sums up the speeches made behind closed doors by the almost 200 prelates present in Rome. This week, bishops will hold meetings in small groups before a final document is produced at the end of the synod, which will in turn form the starting point for discussion at a follow-up synod next year.

Among the points raised in the document is a reevaluation of couples who cohabit without marrying, traditionally regarded as “living in sin,” as well as couples who choose civil weddings.

“A new sensitivity in today’s pastoral consists in grasping the positive reality of civil weddings and, having pointed out our differences, of cohabitation,” states the document.

At the synod, bishops also have been discussing the church’s refusal to give Communion to people who have divorced and remarried. Since the Catholic Church does not recognize divorce, such people are deemed to be living in sin. The document cites some bishops as saying a period of penance should be enough to allow remarried divorcees to receive Communion.

The document reflects the pope’s bid to make the Catholic Church focus on a merciful rather than ideological approach to its followers and suggests that conservative defenders of doctrine have been in the minority at the synod.

But on Monday, Italian Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio said tolerance of homosexuality could not be pushed too far.

“We won’t judge homosexual couples, but we will never bless them,” he said.

Maria Madise, coordinator of the conservative Voice of the Family group, asked whether Catholic parents should now discuss cohabitation and homosexuality with their children.

“Will those parents now have to tell their children that the Vatican teaches that there are positive and constructive aspects to these mortal sins?” the AP quoted her as asking.

Kington is a special correspondent.