Where Is The Synod on Synodality Going With LGBTQ+ Issues?

 This October, the first of two general assemblies pursuant to Pope Francis I’s Synod on Synodality will be occurring in Rome.  Supporters of the Synod on Synodality are promoting the effort as a means of promoting dialogue within the Church and including the laity in these discussions. 

Critics and skeptics disagree with the purpose and methodology of the Synod and are alarmed by its possible true intentions.  “The fact of the matter is that there is no clear idea of what synodality is,” Cardinal Raymond Burke said in an 8 June 2023 EWTN interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6h6jFEBY34 ).

Over the last two years, Synod coordinators posed questions to church leaders and the laity on issues affecting the Church, held discussion groups and gathered their responses.   The results were synthesized at each level and reports issued accordingly. 

Within these synthesis reports, the faithful should be very concerned about how the general assemblies will treat LGBTQ+ issues.  “In the Continental Assembly, as in our national reports, there was a deep desire for greater inclusivity and welcome within the Church,” stated North American Final Document for the Continental Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod (https://www.usccb.org/resources/North%20American%20Final%20Document%20-%20English.pdf ).   “The hope for a welcoming Church expressed itself clearly with the desire to accompany with authenticity LGBTQ+ persons and their families,” stated the National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America for the Diocesan Phase of the 2021-2023 Synod (https://www.usccb.org/resources/US%20National%20Synthesis%202021-2023%20Synod.pdf ).   

Some of the U.S. Diocesan Synod on Synodality reports specifically expressed concerns about the exclusion of members of the LGBTQ+ community and the desire for greater inclusion of these individuals in our Dioceses and parishes.  In its Synthesis, the Diocese of San Diego, California declared “Finally, we call upon the Universal Church to address in the synodal process key questions that divide our local church: the inclusion of LGBT communities as well as the status of women” (p.10) (https://sdcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/synod/2022-reports/Synod_ProcessReport_A_Eng.pdf ). 

In a direct reference to paragraph 2357 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the synthesis report of the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey stated “The ability of the Church to journey with LGBTQ+ persons is, at best, limited. Our brothers and sisters find our teaching language of “intrinsically disordered” hurtful” (p.5) (https://files.ecatholic.com/14277/documents/2022/7/Synod%20FINAL%20from%20indd%20doc.pdf ).  

In its synthesis report, the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona stated “Many LGBTQ people want to live according to a Christian and even Catholic calling; however, they are not currently welcome under current Church practices and doctrine” (p.40) (https://dphx.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2022-DPHX-SYNOD-FINAL.pdf ).  

Referring to several issues including LGBTQ+ issues, the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey synthesis stated “Many suggested, that the catechism should be updated to reflect changes in doctrine and regulations that no longer apply in today’s world” (p.8) (https://rcan.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ENGLISH-Synod-on-Synodality-Report-USCCB_FINAL.pdf  ).  

The Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee’s synthesis report was one of very few reports that discussed the differing opinions on sexuality issues.  The report stated, “Aspects of sexuality such as same-sex attraction, gender identity, equality, complementarity, and marriage were all discussed. While a small minority called for a radical reinterpretation of these issues, others called for continued reinforcement of the Church’s current teachings. This was the most divisive issue overall in the sessions” (p. 9) (https://cdom.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VaticanSynodProcessMemphisDioceseReportJuly3022.pdf ). 

 I have read through many but not all of the synodal reports and from what I have thus far seen, one does not have to drill down too deep to find the insidious tentacles of LGBTQ+ ideology.  If the senior leadership of the Church wants to advocate for LGBTQ+ on the basis of an alleged popular sentiment of the Church rank and file, they can cite ample, albeit dubious, evidence from these synodal reports.

Its not just these report statements on homosexuality that should be cause for concern.  Of much greater concern are some of the participants in the upcoming October assembly.  364 voting delegates will participate in the Synod on Synodality’s October 2023 General Assembly.  Of these, 120 or nearly one-third were selected personally by Pope Francis I.  And herein lies a major concern as to the direction that this Synod on Synodality will take on key issues affecting the Church.  The Pope’s personal choices include a number of active pro-LGBTQ+ supporters including Cardinal Robert McElroy of the Diocese of San Diego, California; Cardinal Blaise Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago; Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington DC; and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey;  

More alarming, the Pope selected heretical LGBTQ+ advocate Father James Martin to participate.  His pronouncements on homosexuality are undeniably contrary to the Church’s traditional teachings on human sexuality.   Writing in response to Father Martin’s September 2019 speech at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, then Archbishop Charles J. Chaput wrote, “Due to the confusion caused by his statements and activities regarding same-sex related (LGBT) issues, I find it necessary to emphasize that Father Martin does not speak with authority on behalf of the Church, and to caution the faithful about some of his claims” (https://archphila.org/archbishop-chaputs-weekly-column-father-james-martin-and-catholic-belief/ ).  Yet the Pope invited this priest to participate in his upcoming Synod on Synodality assembly and take an active role in its deliberations. 

 Our Church has clearly and consistently taught that homosexual behavior is a sin.  Prohibitions against homosexual sin are stated in the Old Testament (Leviticus 18:22), St. Paul’s Epistles (Romans 1:26-28) (1st Corinthians 6:9-10) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Paragraph 2357). 

Paragraph 2357 clearly states:

“Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (Author’s Note:  Footnotes have been omitted). 

True, the Catechism also talks about treating persons with “homosexual tendencies” with “respect, compassion and sensitivity” in the following paragraph, as we all should.  But that same paragraph also declares those tendencies to be “objectively disordered.”  

Our Church’s fundamental teachings are crystal clear on homosexual sin, yet there are efforts underway within the Church to obfuscate or ignore or change those teachings.  Pro LGBTQ+ advocates are already using the Synod on Synodality to advance their agenda as evidenced in many of the Synod synthesis reports.

In recent decades, we have seen the disastrous results of homosexual sin in our Church.  Lives have been shattered and traumatized by clerical sexual abuse especially of minors.  People have lost confidence in the leadership of the Church for their improper handling of sexual abuse. Numerous dioceses have filed for bankruptcy because of sexual abuse claims and financial settlements.   Certain senior leaders of the Church failed to adequately address these abuse claims and provide protection for young people and seminarians.  Worse yet, some Church leaders, most notably laicized Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, were actual sexual predators.

Supporters of LGBTQ+ outreach argue that the Church must be more inclusive and welcoming to LGBTQ+ persons and many of the diocesan synodal reports echo their advocacy.  To do so, they would have the Church ignore, water down or change its fundamental teachings on homosexual conduct and sin. 

St. Paul tells us in his First Letter to the Corinthians:  “Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Would we water down, change or ignore the Church’s teachings on fornication to attract fornicators into the Church?    Would we water down, change or ignore the Church’s teachings on idolatry to attract idolaters into the Church?  Would we water down, change or ignore the Church’s teachings on adulterers to attract adulterers into the Church?   Would we water down, change, or ignore the Church’s teachings on abortion, pornography, rape, or murder to be more welcoming to persons who commit these sins?  Then why should we water down, change or ignore the Church’s Biblical and Traditional teachings on homosexuality in order to attract LGBTQ+ persons into the Church? 

Christ did indeed come into this world to call sinners (Luke 5:31-32) but he also admonishes sinners not to sin anymore (John 8:11).  Ministry to LGBTQ+ persons must not diminish nor ignore the Church’s teachings which reject homosexual sin.   We must not compromise the Church’s fundamental teachings in the name of greater inclusivity.

Where is this Synod on Synodality going to take the Church regarding LGBTQ+ issues?  I don’t know, but from what I have seen in some of the Diocesan Synod reports and who was selected to participate in the October 2023 General Assembly, I am deeply concerned what this Synod is going to do about the Church’s teachings on LGBTQ+ issues.