Pope Francis criticised for ‘failure’ to address damage to LGBT youth

Apr 05 2019
Written by Ella Braidwood

Pope Francis waves to the faithfull as he arrives to lead the Holy Mass at Phoenix Park in Dublin on August 26, 2018. (BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images)

Pope Francis has been criticised for his “failure” to address the damage done to LGBT+ youth by the Catholic Church.

LGBT+ humanitarian campaign group Equal Future hit out at the pope after the Vatican released a new teaching document for young people, titled Christus vivit, on Tuesday (April 2).

The pope released the nine-chapter publication in response to an event held by Catholic bishops, called the “Synod on Young People,” in October.

But Equal Future criticised the pope for “airbrushing of the lives and aspirations of millions of young LGBT people from the document,” which it said “compounds the damage being done to young people.”

Campaign group calls out Pope Francis over document for youth ministry

In a statement, Tiernan Brady, campaign director for Equal Future, said: “Given the highly problematic nature of the Catholic Church’s teaching on LGBT…the document represents a failure of nerve to follow through on previous positive statements by Pope Francis.

“The pope does not say anything about shielding children from the damage that any sense that being LGBT would be a misfortune or a disappointment. The document fails to even consider this damage.”

The pope’s document does not include any mention of the “LGBT” acronym. However, it does briefly mention “homosexuality.”

Brady noted that the the publication contained some “positive elements,” including calling for an “inclusive” approach towards the development of its youth ministry.

Pope Francis’ guidance for youth is a “missed opportunity,” says LGBT+ group

Still, Brady added: “But these are only potential pathways to progress and the document is ultimately a missed opportunity.

“The Synod on Young People failed to acknowledge and tackle the problem. Pope Francis has made little headway.”

“The pope does not say anything about shielding children from the damage that any sense that being LGBT would be a misfortune or a disappointment.”

—Tiernan Brady, campaign director for Equal Future

Following the synod in October, the Catholic Church was criticised for dropping the “LGBT” acronym from an official document discussing recommendations on how to welcome young people into the church.

DUBLIN, IRELAND - AUGUST 25: Pope Francis attends the festival of families at Croke Park on 25 August , 2018 in Dublin, Ireland.Pope Francis is the 266th Catholic Pope and current sovereign of the Vatican. His visit, the first by a Pope since John Paul II's in 1979, is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of Catholics to a series of events in Dublin and Knock. During his visit he will have private meetings with victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Pope Francis. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty)

The Synod on Youth—a global summit for Catholic bishops—took place over the month of October, with a final 60-page document approved by the end of the month.

The working draft of the document had included the LGBT acronym, making it the first time it had been used by the Vatican in an official capacity.