Homosexuals have “gifts and qualities” – Vatican

262637900_504304Senior clerics taking part in a review of Catholic teachings on the family have called on the Church to adopt a more positive stance on homosexuality.

A preliminary report written by bishops during a Vatican synod said homosexuals had “gifts and qualities to offer”.

The report does not challenge the Church’s long-held opposition to same-sex marriage, but some gay rights groups hailed it as a breakthrough.

Conservative groups rejected the report, one labelling it a “betrayal”.
More than 200 bishops have been taking part in the synod since 5 October. It was convened by Pope Francis to debate controversial issues such as abortion, contraception, homosexuality and divorce.

Monday’s report, issued half-way through the two-week meeting, said: “Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community.

“Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities?”

Breakthrough or betrayal?

The document adds: “Without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual unions, it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners.”

Human Rights Campaign, a leading US gay rights organisation, said the document set a “dramatic new tone”.

The London-based Catholic gay rights groups Quest called parts of it a “breakthrough”.

However Voice Of The Family, a conservative Roman Catholic organisation, rejected the interim report as a “betrayal”.

The group’s co-founder John Smeaton called it “one of the worst official documents drafted in Church history”.

Last year, a survey launched by Pope Francis suggested that the majority of Catholics rejected Church teaching on issues such as sex and contraception.

-BBC

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ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

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An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.

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