When the bishops spoke of the "gifts" of homosexual people

On 13 October 2014, a document from Rome attracted attention around the world. For a week, the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops convened by Pope Francis had been discussing questions concerning the family. On this Monday, its general rapporteur, Cardinal Péter Erdő, presented an interim report. Above all, its statements about homosexual people made people sit up.

The text acknowledged their gifts and qualities as a possible contribution to the Christian community. It asked whether communities were ready to offer homosexual people a home and to accept their sexual orientation without abandoning Church teaching on marriage and the family. Same-sex partnerships were also recognised: mutual support, which could extend to self-sacrifice, was described as a valuable source of strength.

That same day, the Jesuit James Martin spoke of a stunning shift. Phrases such as "intrinsically disordered", which had shaped Church statements on homosexuality for decades, did not appear in the report. One Vatican expert compared its impact to an earthquake.

The opening quickly met resistance, however. Conservative cardinals sharply criticised the draft and demanded fundamental changes. Only a few days later, the "welcoming" in the English translation gave way to a markedly more cautious wording.

In the final report, hardly anything was left of the original signs of acceptance. It called for people with homosexual tendencies to be treated with respect and sensitivity, but at the same time stressed that same-sex unions could in no way be compared with marriage. Even this watered-down paragraph failed to win the required two-thirds majority. Francis nevertheless had it published, together with the voting result.

For many queer believers, disappointment was what remained. Even so, the interim report left a mark: for the first time, an official document of the bishops had presented homosexual people as an enrichment of the Church community.