Catholic Bishops Say LGBT People Offer 'Gifts and Qualities'
A new document supporting homosexuals from the Vatican has caused controversy within the ranks of church conservatives but has won cheers from LGBT rights advocates.
The document was prepared after a Synod on the family attended by at least 200 bishops, NBC reported. The discussion included how the Church should challenge itself to find "a fraternal space" for homosexuals without compromising Catholic doctrine.
While the document, called by its Latin name "relatio," didn't outright revoke condemnation of homosexual acts or gay marriage, it did include language that appeared to ease up on the ideas.
"Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a further space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home," the document said.
As expected with such a change in tone, there was a tug-of-war from the conservative and progressive sides in analyzing the document.
New Ways Ministry, a leading U.S. Catholic gay rights group, told NBC the document set a new tone than previous documents from the Vatican that traditionally aggressively banned the idea of accepting homosexuals altogether.
Meanwhile, John Smeaton, co-founder of the conservative group Voice of the Family, was outraged and told NBC that it was a betrayal to Catholic parents and "one of the worst official documents drafted in Church history."
But that isn't the only shocking revelation from the discussion, which took place behind closed doors with 191 cardinals and bishops.
Other non-traditional topics broached include discussions about sex, cohabiting couples, teen mothers and children from same-sex unions.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols told NBC that the discussions have not been in Latin, as is traditionally the case, and that regular people are coming in to discuss things that are not usually discussed -- such as a couple's intimate discourse of the importance of sex to the health of their relationship.
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