Italian bishop defends homosexual love and practice

An Italian bishop has argued in an interview, which many Catholics are likely to find controversial, that he finds nothing wrong with the practise of homosexuality.

Bishop Francesco Savino of Cassano all’Jonio says in the interview that people in same-sex relationships “should not be denied the opportunity to be loved and to love, even on an intimate, sexual level, because denying them this, denying them their right, I repeat, is simply wrong”.

Speaking to DirittoDiCronaca.it, the 70-year-old prelate, who serves as one of three vice-presidents of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, said that the Church must “restore dignity to everyone, especially to those who have been denied it”.

The  bishop is known for his LGBT activism and recently grabbed the headlines for celebrating Mass, on 6 September at the Church of the Gesù in Rome, for LGBT Catholic pilgrims taking part in the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

The service, attended by more than 1,000 people from around the world, was organised by the lay association Tenda di Gionata. Pope Leo XIV had reportedly urged Bishop Savino to preside, telling him, “Go and celebrate the Jubilee organised by Tenda di Gionata and the other groups that work with brothers and sisters who are all of you.”

During the Mass, concelebrated by around 30 priests including Jesuit Father James Martin, a well-known US cleric due to his LGBT-focused activism, Bishop Savino spoke about the dignity of every person and the meaning of conversion.

Many of the attending LGBT pilgrims wore shirts printed with the words “nell’amore non c’è timore” – “there is no fear in love” – from the First Letter of John, and some waved rainbow-coloured fans in the crowded Jesuit church. The LGBT Mass concluded with a pilgrim carrying a rainbow cross to lead the procession from the church.

Bishop Savino told the congregation, “We are all a pilgrim people of hope and we want to leave this celebration more joyful and hopeful than ever. We have to go forward, convinced that God loves us with a unique and unrepeatable love – unconditional love.”

Francesco Savino was born on 13 November 1954 in Bitonto, near Bari, and was ordained a priest in 1978 for the Diocese of Ruvo e Bitonto. After completing his studies at the Pontifical Regional Seminary of Puglia, he went on to earn degrees in theology and anthropology, combining academic work with pastoral service.

As a young priest, he taught religion in schools and worked extensively with youth and social outreach programmes, eventually becoming director of Caritas in Bitonto. In 1989, he was appointed rector of the Basilica of the Holy Doctors Cosmas and Damian.

Appointed Bishop of Cassano all’Jonio by Pope Francis in 2015, he has since become known for his pastoral approach to social and humanitarian issues, serving as vice president for southern Italy within the Italian Bishops’ Conference.

He has frequently spoken out on migration, peace and the dignity of human life, including visits to war-torn Odessa and the site of a migrant shipwreck in Calabria.

The Catholic Church teaches that people with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies must be treated with respect, compassion and sensitivity,” according to its Catechism, which also states that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved".

For this reason, the faithful who experience same-sex attraction are called to live in chastity, through self-mastery and grace, as a path to holiness.

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Photo: Bishop Francesco Savino speaking to DirittoDiCronaca.it (screenshot from video)