Premium Content:

Equal Voices welcome Pope Francis' comments supporting civil unions

Equal Voices, an Australian ecumenical network supporting justice and inclusion of LGBTIQA+ people in church and civil society, has welcomed Pope Francis’ comments in the documentary, Francesco, that support the rights of LGBT people.

- Advertisement -

“Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They are children of God and have a right to a family,” the Pope said. “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered”, he continued.

Rev Peter Maher, Catholic priest and member of the Equal Voices Board described the comments as a momentous development to be welcomed.

“We celebrate this move as it represents a more inclusive approach by the Catholic church. It reflects the approach of Jesus who entered into dialogue with all and accompanied the vulnerable and minorities of his time” Rev Maher said.

Equal Voices said they were also are encouraged by the pope’s statement as it underscores the Catholic church teaching of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Rev Jo Inkpin, chair of Equal Voices National Board said while the comments were welcomed they church still had a long way to go.

“We also recognise that there is a long way to go for Catholic teaching to enshrine justice for LGBTIQA+ Catholics. The Catholic catechism still describes LGBTIQA+ people as ‘objectively disordered’ and ‘an intrinsic moral evil’. These teachings lead to serious psychological and spiritual harm in LGBTI Catholics. The Catholic church also needs to consider blessings and sacramental marriage for Catholic LGBT couples”.

The group said the Catholic church still needed to eliminate discrimination of LGBTIQA+ workers and students in its institutions, agencies and schools.

Source: Media Release


Love OUTinPerth Campaign

Help support the publication of OUTinPerth by contributing to our
GoFundMe campaign.

 

Latest

British soccer player given whopping suspension for on pitch gay slur

It's not the first time he's been accused of using gay slurs during a game.

Which WA seats will be in focus on election night

All eyes will be on Tangney, Curtin, Moore, Canning and other WA seats once counting gets underway.

And then they were two, Auckland drops out of Gay Games bid

Auckland has withdrawn its bid to host the 2030...

Tinā, the debut feature from Miki Magasiva is a love letter to all Pacifika mothers

The film has a special opening night event at Luna Leederville.

Newsletter

Don't miss

British soccer player given whopping suspension for on pitch gay slur

It's not the first time he's been accused of using gay slurs during a game.

Which WA seats will be in focus on election night

All eyes will be on Tangney, Curtin, Moore, Canning and other WA seats once counting gets underway.

And then they were two, Auckland drops out of Gay Games bid

Auckland has withdrawn its bid to host the 2030...

Tinā, the debut feature from Miki Magasiva is a love letter to all Pacifika mothers

The film has a special opening night event at Luna Leederville.

Director Pedro Almodóvar delivers blunt assessment of US President Donald Trump

"You will go down in history as a catastrophe." the Spanish director said,.

British soccer player given whopping suspension for on pitch gay slur

It's not the first time he's been accused of using gay slurs during a game.

Which WA seats will be in focus on election night

All eyes will be on Tangney, Curtin, Moore, Canning and other WA seats once counting gets underway.

And then they were two, Auckland drops out of Gay Games bid

Auckland has withdrawn its bid to host the 2030 Gay Games, leaving Perth and Denver, Colorado as the two cities remaining in contention. Perth's...