Vatican calls on churches to accept gays and lesbians, says they offer gifts to church

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - OCTOBER 08: Pope Francis blows a kiss to the faithful during his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square on October 8, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square for the weekly General Audience Pope Francis appealed for Christian unity, pointing out that divisions between Christians of different denominations are hurtful for the Church and for Christ. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (2014 Getty Images)

In a stunning shift, the Vatican released a document Monday saying gays and lesbians should be accepted in the Catholic Church.

Catholic bishops said gays and lesbians “have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community” and should be accepted. In the document, the Vatican also said that there were positive aspects to a couple living together without being married.

While no decisions were made during the first week of a two-week meeting of bishops on family issues, the tone of the report was one of almost-revolutionary acceptance, rather than condemnation.

Taking into account the views of Pope Francis, whose “Who am I to judge?” comments about gays and lesbians signaled a new tone of acceptance by the church, the bishop’s report seemed to reflect the views of ordinary Catholics who’ve rejected church teaching on birth control and homosexuality as outdated and irrelevant.

In their report asked rhetorically if the church was ready to provide them a welcoming place, "accepting and valuing their sexual orientation without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony."

For a 2,000-year-old institution that teaches that gay sex is "intrinsically disordered," even posing the question is significant.

"This is a stunning change in the way the Catholic Church speaks of gay people," said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit author. "The Synod is clearly listening to the complex, real-life experiences of Catholics around the world, and seeking to address them with mercy, as Jesus did."

The bishops repeated that gay marriage was off the table. But it acknowledged that gay partnerships had merit.

"Without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual unions, it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners," they said.

Conservative groups rejected the report as a "betrayal" and even heresy.

"What will Catholics parents now have to tell their children about contraception, cohabiting with partners or living homosexual lifestyles?" asked Maria Madise, coordinator of the Voice of the Family, which counts pro-life and conservative groups as members.

"Will those parents now have to tell their children that the Vatican teaches that there are positive and constructive aspects to these mortal sins? This approach destroys grace in souls."

For heterosexuals, the bishops said the church must grasp the "positive reality of civil weddings" and even cohabitation, with the aim of helping the couple commit eventually to a church wedding.

The bishops also called for a re-reading of the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae that outlined the church's opposition to artificial birth control. The bishops said couples should be unconditionally open to having children, but that the message of Humanae Vitae "underlines the need to respect the dignity of the person in the moral evaluation of the methods of birth control."

There has been much talk inside the synod about applying the theological concept of the "law of gradualness" in difficult family situations, including contraception. The concept encourages the faithful to take one step at a time in the search for holiness.

Applying the concept to matters of birth control would be an acknowledgement that most Catholics already use artificial contraception in violation of church teaching. But it would encourage pastors to meet them where they are, and then help them come to understand the full reasoning behind the ban and then adopt it themselves.

Bishops also called for "courageous" new ways to minister to families, especially those "damaged" by divorce. The document didn't take sides in the most divisive issue at the synod, whether Catholics who divorce and remarry without an annulment can receive Communion.

Church teaching holds that without an annulment, these Catholics are living in sin and thus ineligible to receive the sacraments.

The document said these Catholics deserve respect and should not be discriminated against, and then laid out the positions of both sides: those who want to maintain the status quo barring them from the sacraments, and those who favor a case-by-case approach, in which the couple undertake a path of penance.

Pope Francis has called for a more merciful approach to these couples, but conservatives have insisted there is no getting around Jesus' words that marriage is indissoluble.

There have been suggestions that the conservatives were being sidelined, if not silenced, behind the synod walls given Francis' known position on the matter.

Significantly, Francis decided at the end of last week to add six perceived progressives to the synod leadership to help prepare the final document after some conservatives were elected to leadership positions.

Filippino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said there had been "ample space" for people to speak their minds.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.