Catholic LGBT pilgrimage to Vatican sparks hopes of greater acceptance

“This is a super-significant moment, the first LGBT jubilee in history, you can imagine how important that is for both LGBT Christians and the Church,” said Caterina, a health care worker from Padua carrying a rainbow fan and wearing a T-shirt that said “In love there is no fear.”

As millions of Catholics wait to see how Pope Leo XIV will continue the legacy of his predecessor Pope Francis, who died in April, LGBT Catholics are particularly anxious about whether the new pontiff will echo the welcome extended by Francis.

Catholic teaching states that same-sex relations are “intrinsically disordered,” a source of pain to LGBT Catholics. Francis promoted an inclusive stance. When asked about a gay priest, he famously replied “Who am I to judge?” and allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, which triggered a conservative backlash.

Pope Leo’s outlook is more uncertain. At a synod or Vatican conference in 2012, Leo gave a speech about how Western media was promoting “anti-Christian lifestyle choices” such as same-sex marriage. When he became a cardinal in 2023, he said that the Church “wants to be more “welcoming and open,” but he emphasized that doctrine had not changed. At the conclave where he was elected, cardinals expressed concerns at some of Francis’ moves to greater openness, seen as ambiguous, and even threatening by some.

Still the pilgrims were full of optimism for greater acceptance.

“We have been overlooked for so long. It is very good to show it is possible to be both LGBT and Catholic,” said Kaitlyn, an activist from the diocese of Westminster in London.