At a conference in the Vatican, a dramatic change of tone towards unconventional ways of living
By B.C.
SOMETHING important changed in the Vatican on October 13th. Not a core doctrinal point or an administrative rule, but the tone with which the Roman Catholic church addresses gays and other people whose way of life differs from the classic ideal of a lifelong, heterosexual bond, sealed by a Christian ceremony.
The change was signalled at an "extraordinary synod" of bishops which was convened by Pope Francis to consider the future of Catholic teaching and pastoral work in areas like morality and the family. In a report of the discussions so far, Cardinal Peter Erdo used some language which presents an extraordinary contrast with standard Catholic discourse on the subject.
For example, he said that "homosexuals have gifts to offer the Christian community" and posed the rhetorical question: "Are we capable of welcoming these people, giving them a fraternal space in our communities?" The cardinal added
Often they wish to encounter a Church which offers them a welcoming home. Are our communities capable of providing that, [of] valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?
While it was still felt that "unions between people of the same sex cannot be considered on the same footing as matrimony between a man and a woman" the cardinal acknowledged that among gay unions, "there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners."
He also made clear that in its ministry to heterosexual couples, the church had to grapple with the reality of widespread cohabitation and non-religious weddings.
While the Vatican will almost certainly try to assuage conservative alarm by saying that nothing in the Catholic world-view has fundamentally shifted, the change of tone is startling. Under Pope Benedict XVI, the official view of homosexuality hardened considerably—with a new stress on the idea that gay orientation, let alone practice, was "fundamentally disordered" and incompatible with the priesthood. This hardening coincided with ever-more damaging revelations about priestly child abuse, cover-ups and the existence of a "gay Mafia" in the internal politics of the Vatican.
Up to now, not many prominent Catholics have publicly considered the possibility that there might be any spiritual merit in same-sex unions. One of the few was Father Mychal Judge, the chaplain to the firefighters of New York who was one of the victims of 9/11. "Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discrimate against this kind?" he used to say. Perhaps he is smiling in heaven.
