Almudena Cathedral, archdiocese of Madrid
The websites of the archdiocese and the CVC notably bear the rainbow colors of the LGTBQ flag. CVC claims to be inspired by Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. Quoting the controversial document, the website states, "The Church makes her own the attitude of the Lord Jesus, who offers His boundless love to each person without exception." Thus the CVC admonishes that "every sign of unjust discrimination" and "any form of aggression and violence" should be avoided.
"Sexual diversity," reads the CVC manifesto, is a "gift from God made up of people with diverse sexual orientations," adding that "this experience of diversity in the Church has made the community grow with deep gratitude and joy." CVC also asserts that "every person is, by nature, the child of God, created in his image and likeness."
CVC describes itself as a group consisting of 1,100 people in 35 communities in Spain. It cooperates with like-minded Catholic organizations elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world, organizations such as Chile's Outreach for Sexual Diversity (PADI+). In 2018, CVC received an award from CHRISHOM, a Spanish activist group that describes itself as a place for young "LGBTI+HQ" people under 35 to hear "testimonies on how make their Faith compatible with their orientation."
The CVC statement, which is repeated on the archdiocesan website, goes further, asserting that discrimination is "always unfair"; however, CVC neglects to clarify what it means by discrimination. Also, the archdiocesan and CVC websites do not clarify why specific groups of people have been selected for special attention based on sexual orientation or perversion.
Like Martin, the Spanish archdiocese has apparently succumbed to the ideological currents of the day.Tweet
Neither CVC's nor the Madrid archdiocese's messaging on the topic of sexual "diversity" echoes the clear diction of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states in its section on marriage and sexuality: "The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial."
The Catechism also states that homosexual acts are "intrinsically immoral and contrary to the natural law," expressing a negative view towards "homosexual orientation."
The Catechism further states: "Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder."
In contrast to Madrid's archdiocesan website and the CVC, Cdl. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the pontifical household, said during his first sermon for Advent on Dec. 4 in the St. Paul VI Hall before the Pope and other prelates: "Woe to those who die in mortal sin!" Somehow, Cdl. Cantalamessa's warning seems more authentically Catholic and urgent. Indeed, the Catechism calls on persons experiencing homosexual inclinations to practice chastity.
Echoing the Madrid archdiocese and CVC, America Magazine editor Fr. James Martin, the author of Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter Into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity, often calls bishops and the Catholic faithful in general to pay special attention to what he calls the "gay community."
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!Tweet
Following the horrific mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Florida by a terrorist inspired by Islam, Martin denounced Catholic bishops (except Cdl. Blase Cupich) for failing to make "specific reference to the LGBT community and reach out to them." The pro-LGBT priest went on to say, "Now imagine, God forbid, if this had happened at the gathering of some particular ethnic group. Catholic leaders would decry the murders and then express their solidarity with that group, quite naturally." He continued: "But with only one exception, this was not done for the grieving LGBT community."
Like Martin, the Spanish archdiocese has apparently succumbed to the ideological currents of the day. Of special concern to Catholics is the apparent admission by a major European archdiocese that it promotes homosexuality as a practice actively wanted by God and as a trait that is part of the essential nature of the individual.
The CVC asserts that the diversity of sexual orientations is "a gift from God," channeling Pope Francis' dubious sentiments on the plurality of world religions as set forth in the 2019 Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.
Fr. James Martin
The document asserts that "the pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings." The other co-signer of the document was Grand Imam of Al-Azhar mosque, Ahmed el-Tayeb.
What the statements on sexual diversity on the archdiocesan and CVC website fail to consider are the many other orientations that are outside the LGBTQ framework. For example, there did not appear on either website any validation of pedophilia, ephebophilia or any other of the multitude of orientations that have been prohibited explicitly in the Bible and millennial teachings of the Church. Those who suffer from such inclinations have thus been subjected to "discrimination" by the archdiocesan authorities and CVC, which have not directed a single ministry to welcome them.
The absence of a welcome for sexual inclinations that do not fit within the LGBTQ framework raises a question as to whether groups such as CVC (which are applauded by some members of the Catholic hierarchy) are merely awaiting a magisterial blessing to tend to the presumed specific pastoral needs of the neglected groups. In an era wherein Pope Francis has validated same-sex civil unions, one wonders how long it will be until pastors of Christ's flock succumb to recent precedent and eliminate "discrimination" against other perverse sexual orientations.