Vatican document tells Church to be more ‘respectful’ to gays

An official document released by the Vatican says that the Catholic Church must be more accepting of gays, while still opposing gay marriage.

The 75-page document was put together in response to a global survey of its followers taken by the church last year, and reveals some major steps forward in the Vatican’s thinking towards LGBT people.

The document states that children of gay parents must be treated the same as those raised by heterosexual couples, saying that the church must accept children of same-sex couples into the faith with “equal dignity”.

It also says that although bishops should remain opposed to the redefining of marriage to include same-sex marriages, the church must find a balance between its teachings on the traditional family “and a respectful, non-judgmental attitude towards people living in such unions,” reports Reuters.

While the document states that church officials will not be pressured into changing their views, it says that “many responses” from the survey call for “theological study in dialogue with the human sciences to develop a multi-faceted look at the phenomenon of homosexuality”.

Bishops will discuss the report when they meet later this year, though any recommended changes to the Church’s teachings will require the approval of Pope Francis.

Meanwhile, last month (May) the Archbishop of Canterbury admitted that the Church of England needs to accept that equal marriage is now law in England and Wales – click here for the full story.