In Historic First, Pope Leo Opens Vatican Doors to LGBT Catholics — Even as U.S. Rights Slide

Pope Leo will host a pro-LGBT Catholic group in Rome — a first for his pontificate — and his top advisors say gay blessings will remain in place.

In a landmark move revealed this week, Pope Leo will host “We Are Church,” a pro-LGBT Catholic reform organization, at the Vatican in late October — the first time an LGBT Catholic delegation has been invited “in this form.”

Eight representatives from the group, which explicitly endorses blessings for same-sex couples and calls for an “end of the exclusion of LGBTQ persons,” will participate in the Vatican’s Jubilee of synodal bodies.

The meeting is increasing evidence that this pontificate will not retreat from Francis’s reforms.

In Leo’s words, the Church remains “open to all,” and his advisers make clear the progressive momentum will continue.

Pope Leo’s outreach echoes a shift Pope Francis began in 2013, when he famously urged, “Who am I to judge?” and steadily made the Church more welcoming to LGBT people.

That Francis-era legacy appears secure: Cardinal Víctor Fernández — Leo’s doctrinal chief — told reporters last month that the gay-blessings policy “will remain” under the new pope.

And one of Francis and Leo’s closest aides, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, has insisted there’s no going back on that inclusivity, saying the church will “continue” embracing all people.

Predictably, some conservative Catholics may bristle, but the message from Leo’s inner circle is clear: inclusivity is here to stay.

At the same time, this historic Vatican stance comes amid anti-LGBT trends in the U.S.

Just last week, the Supreme Court was asked to reconsider Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 marriage-equality ruling, and at least nine state legislatures have moved to block new same-sex marriages or urge the Court to overturn it.

Gallup finds Americans’ support for same-sex marriage plateauing and falling among Republicans.

In short, while Pope Leo is carrying forward Francis’s inclusive agenda in Rome, back home, the fight for LGBT equality faces fresh headwinds.

The pope’s unprecedented meeting with We Are Church thus sends a powerful signal: the Vatican’s door remains wide open, even as some outside forces try to shut it.

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