Continuing months of controversy, the Italian bishops have overwhelmingly approved a document that many argue expresses official support for homosexuality and transgender lifestyles.
Much like the Synod on Synodality, the Italian Bishops’ Conference’s multi-year synodal assembly has been marked by controversy over LGBT-related issues.
The four-year synodal process convened by the bishops’ conference (known in Italian as the CEI) culminated in a late October vote to overwhelmingly approve the final document. The CEI is led by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi.
That vote, originally scheduled for the spring, was delayed until 25 October due to dissatisfaction among the bishops over passages concerning women, LGBT issues, and the handling of abuse. Some bishops argued the draft was not permissive enough on these points.
The text has now been approved by the majority of the episcopate, both as a whole and on each individual paragraph, as is customary. Among these, paragraph 30, sections C and D, have drawn particular attention for their apparent promotion of homosexuality:
“C: That local Churches, overcoming the discriminatory attitude sometimes prevalent in ecclesial circles and in society, commit themselves to promoting the recognition and accompaniment of homoaffective and transgender persons, as well as their parents, who already belong to the Christian community.
D: That the CEI support with prayer and reflection the ‘days’ promoted by civil society to combat all forms of violence and show closeness to those who are hurt and discriminated against (days against gender violence and discrimination, paedophilia, bullying, femicide, homophobia, and transphobia, etc.).”
These two passages received among the highest number of non placet votes, with 154 and 185 against respectively. Only two other sections faced more opposition, with 156 and 188 votes against.
The controversy is clear: section 30C of the CEI’s newly approved text appears to lend official support to both homosexual and transgender lifestyles. Section 30D, meanwhile, seems to endorse secular events such as Pride celebrations.
In contrast, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law.”
Similarly, regarding transgender ideology and lifestyles, the Church draws directly from Scripture: “God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
Questioned at a press conference about whether the Church now endorsed gay pride events, Archbishop Erio Castellucci replied:
“That section was misunderstood. Some thought the CEI was endorsing Gay Pride events, but it refers instead to days the Church already joins in its own way: through prayer and reflection. For example, the day against paedophilia, initiatives against femicide, and prayer vigils against homotransphobia. These are not openings to any kind of manifestation, though that interpretation circulated widely online.”
Castellucci, president of the National Committee for the Synodal Journey, added in an interview that the terms “recognition” and “accompaniment” did not mean approval:
“The expressions ‘recognition’ and ‘accompaniment’ underwent careful consideration. ‘Recognising’ does not imply moral approval; rather, it involves acknowledging the individual’s reality and inherent dignity. ‘Accompanying’ means walking alongside the person, welcoming them without oversimplifying, as Pope Francis invites us to do. This is a challenging approach, but one that is deeply evangelical. As was the case for remarried divorcees after Amoris Laetitia, this is a process that will require further steps.”
However, he also stated during the press conference that “morality is not static; it must take shape from the situation, from the progress of knowledge, and above all from the faces and conditions of people.”
So what exactly are we to make of this? Should greater weight be given to the official text or to Castellucci’s attempt to contain the fallout? Was the CEI’s document the first step toward Castellucci’s vision of a morality that is “not static”?
The tragic reality is that, after four years, the CEI has produced a document that, on this point, should never have been approved. Echoing many of the more controversial themes of Pope Francis’s pontificate, such as Amoris Laetitia’s approach to Communion for the divorced and “re-married,” the CEI’s final document appears to lend official Church support to immoral lifestyles, despite attempts by individual bishops to downplay this.
Despite Castellucci’s efforts to backtrack from a direct rejection of Catholic morality, the text itself is clear in its instruction for local Churches to “promote the recognition and accompaniment of homoaffective and transgender persons.”
Castellucci’s comments carry no particular weight. They were remarks made to one journalist, whereas the document he sought to reinterpret carries the full authority of an approved CEI text, without any accompanying clarification.
Nor are Castellucci’s explanations any less concerning, as they suggest the Church does not already recognise people’s dignity while hinting at “further steps,” in the spirit of Amoris Laetitia, that could lead to future doctrinal erosion.
The Catholic Church is not unaware of the existence of those living homosexual or transgender lifestyles. There is no new “recognition” required: the Church acknowledges their existence and encourages them to adhere to the universal call to chastity. But this kind of “recognition” is not what the CEI’s text advocates.
In recent years, the term “accompaniment” has drifted from its original meaning. Since Amoris Laetitia, it has come to signify, in some circles, the distribution of Holy Communion to those living in a state of sin.
The CEI’s “accompaniment” of LGBT individuals will likely be interpreted by secular society and activist clergy in the same way.
The Church seems far removed from the 1986 Vatican instruction that warned charity must clearly uphold moral truth. At that time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger directed bishops to ensure that any “pastoral programme” clearly state that homosexual activity is immoral.
Ratzinger’s document emphasised that “departure from the Church’s teaching, or silence about it, in an effort to provide pastoral care is neither caring nor pastoral. Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral.”
The implications of the CEI’s document will likely be far-reaching. Although it is not an official document of the Holy See, what happens in Italy often sets precedent for the wider Church. Given the CEI’s close ties with the Vatican, its actions carry considerable influence over episcopal conferences elsewhere.
The CEI’s text will now be reviewed by a small group who will issue concrete instructions on its implementation at the bishops’ regular November meeting.
Michael Haynes is a self-employed English journalist and a member of the Holy See Press Corps. He can be found on X and at his website, Per Mariam.
(Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
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