Posted on 12/10/2024 9:42:43 AM PST by ebb tide
A Reuters article explains the news:
“A pilgrimage by the Italian group “La Tenda di Gionata” (Jonathan’s Tent), set for next September, is listed among the hundreds of events planned for the Jubilee. . . .
“The group, which describes its goal as to promote the welcoming of LGBT people within the Church, is expected to host a prayer vigil at a local Rome parish before making a trip to St. Peter’s Basilica.”
Although the event is not sponsored by the Vatican itself, it is being listed among the hundreds of events listed by the Vatican that will be taking place during the Jubilee year. It is hosted by Rome’s Church of the Gesù the mother church of the Jesuit order, on September 6, 2025. According to a report from ANSA, the Italian newspaper Il Messagero received confirmation from the Vatican about the event. The newspaper commented:
“The Jubilee of 2025 will open its doors to the first pilgrimage dedicated specifically to gays and LGBT+ people. . . .an absolute novelty, unthinkable until a few years ago, the result of a pastoral attention that extends to milieux usually considered marginal. . . .[T]he historic baroque Church of the Gesù has promoted welcoming LGBT+ pilgrims, their parents, workers and all those who gravitate towards these rainbow associations. . . . “
The pilgrimage will be entitled: “Church: Home for All, LGBT+ Christians and Other Existential Frontiers.” The event has the support of Pope Francis, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of Holy Year events, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, and Fr. Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Jesuits.
So why did this news touch my heart so deeply?
I am old enough to remember the Jubilee Year declared by Pope John Paul II in 2000 to mark the two millennia of Christianity. In fact, I was in Rome that summer for the first World Pride celebration which was taking place in the Eternal City. I had been invited by the organizers to address the conference on religion and homosexuality which was a major event of World Pride.
One of the things I remember most about that time was the anger expressed by the Vatican and the pope himself that World Pride was taking place in Rome during the Jubilee Year. Perhaps particularly galling to John Paul II was that the pride event was taking place in the first week of July, which was the same week that pilgrims from the pope’s native Poland were scheduled to flood the city. And indeed, everywhere you looked you saw people with bright red neckerchiefs, a symbol of Polish heritage.
The mood in the city was incredibly tense. Vatican anti-gay rhetoric had fueled anti-gay sentiment beyond the Catholic Church, and many right-wing Italian political groups were denouncing World Pride, which was to culminate in a march from the Porta San Paolo to the Colosseum. Anti-gay messages were plastered all over the city buildings. One message in particular remains strong in my memory: “Gay al Colosseo? Sì, con i leoni.” (Translation: “Gays at the Colosseum? Yes, with lions.”)
While 2025’s event may seem like a small step, when compared with how the Vatican reacted to the presence of gay people in Rome during 2000, we can see what a sea change has taken place in terms of responding to LGBTQ+ people. This development did not happen overnight, but has many small steps which paved the way for it: VIP seating for New Ways Ministry pilgrims at a papal audience in 2018, Pope Francis personally greeting LGBTQ+ pilgrims from England’s Westminster diocese in 2015, the pope greeting leaders of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics in 2023, the Vatican synod office listing New Ways Ministry’s resources on their website, the pope greeting transgender women and men in 2024, the 2023 and 2024 meetings Pope Francis had with New Ways Ministry staff and friends–and indeed so many more such gestures too numerous to list here.
The Jubilee Year’s theme is “Pilgrims of Hope.” This news, especially when compared to a previous Jubilee, offers an immense amount of hope!
Not too long ago, we had Catholic popes.
Ping
We “ain’t no ways tarred” right Poopsy?
Bergoglio is destroying the Catholic Church with his glorification of all things queer. He’s a disgusting POS and no doubts a sodomite himself. No other way to explain his obsession with sodomy. James Martin might as well be leading the church.
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