Irish President Michael D Higgins believes Pope Francis faces a significant challenge in reforming the Catholic Church to be more inclusive, particularly towards women and the LGBTQ+ community. President Higgins (pictured with Pope Francis) expressed these sentiments after a private audience with the pontiff in the Vatican’s library. “He faces grave difficulties in the institution Read more
The same-sex blessings near Cologne Cathedral (pictured) were a public salute to scores of private ceremonies among European Catholics in recent years. The crowd waved rainbow flags and according to media reports, sang “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles. The mid-September rites included Catholic priests reciting blessings for same-sex and heterosexual couples and, Read more
Dallas is the home to the world’s largest LGBTQ-friendly church, the Cathedral of Hope, which has 4,000 members. Last Sunday, Regent Empress Penny Cilyn was getting ready in her car at the parking lot. She was wearing a blue sequined dress, with her hair curled and styled like Dolly Parton. She was there to represent Read more
LGBTQ pilgrims at a special Mass organised for them at World Youth Day (WYD) last Thursday found themselves facing a group of ultra-traditionalist Catholic protesters. Earlier that same day, Pope Francis spoke at three different venues, telling the half a million WYD pilgrims that the Church must be a home for everyone. Despite the Pope’s Read more
In a heartfelt gesture of outreach to the LGBTQ+ community, Pope Francis engaged in a moving conversation with a young transgender person, saying “God loves us as we are.” The Pope’s compassionate remarks were unveiled through Vatican media on Tuesday, following a podcast where Francis engaged with young people through audio messages in preparation for Read more
The Vatican has released a 50-page working document urging Roman Catholic bishops to engage in discussions regarding LGBTQ+ inclusion and the role of women within the church. The document, called Instrumentum Laboris (Latin for “working document”), is based on the input gathered from a two-year worldwide global synod, where Catholics were invited to share their Read more