For many, this matter weighs heavily upon their hearts. The Catholic Church encourages us to share in the commitment to fidelity to Christ’s Gospel. This post addresses questions that have come to my attention. The points are drawn directly from the Church’s official teachings regarding the recent LGBTQ+ pilgrimage to Rome during the Jubilee Year 2025, which has raised important questions. I hope to create a video on this subject soon, so subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive a notification when it goes live.

The  1,000 LGBTQ+ Catholics and their families’ visit to St. Peter’s Basilica, including a prayer vigil and procession, was listed on the official Jubilee calendar as a group pilgrimage. It was approved by the late Pope Francis shortly before his passing earlier this year.

However, before we discuss the hot-button issue of this post, it is important to clarify that the Vatican does not endorse sinful acts or lifestyles. Rather, this Holy Year is an opportunity for all pilgrims, regardless of their struggles, to seek God’s mercy, conversion, and healing.

What is the Pilgrims of Hope initiative?  

The Jubilee 2025, themed “Pilgrims of Hope,” invites everyone to cross the Holy Door as a sign of repentance and renewal, emphasising God’s infinite love for sinners while calling us to holiness. Jubilee Year in 2025 is a renewal and hope initiative for Catholics everywhere. Different Catholic institutions and dioceses are planning similar events to observe the Jubilee year, with a focus on prayer, charity, and action.

Major components of the program are:

The Jubilee Year: A Jubilee is a Catholic Church special year of grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, usually occurring every 25 years. To prepare for the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis called for greater spiritual reflection on mercy and proclaimed 2024 a “great symphony of prayer.”

Pilgrimages:

 Spiritual and physical pilgrimages are integral to the venture. I have participated in two pilgrimages so far. In England and Wales, where I live, A four-route national pilgrimage walk was planned, and four main routes proceeded from Catholic cathedrals in Leeds, Cardiff, Norwich, and London. They all arrived at St. Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham, on September 13, 2025.

In the United States, an advocacy for “Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation” called on societies and individuals to embark on pilgrimages with religion and nature at the core.

Social Justice:

 The initiative centres on social justice, which is consistent with the Jubilee tradition of debt remission and slave liberation. Organisations such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society are employing the theme as an education and advocacy tool for refugees and migrants. Catholic organisations are acting on universal issues such as debt, climate change, and human trafficking.

Individual initiatives:

The “Pilgrims of Hope” project sparked an incredible number of initiatives in parishes, educational institutions, and societies worldwide.

For school students:

There have also been “jubilee doors” created based on the theme of hope and the Pilgrimage of Hope.

For Prison inmates:

 It’s so good that certain prison chapels worldwide have been classified as “Places of Pilgrimage” so inmates can share in the Holy Year.

Everyone is welcome to the Jubalee!

Concerns over the LGBTQ+ Inclusion

 To provide context, the official statements of the Catholic Church on homosexuality, inclusion, pilgrimage, and the Jubilee Year: Official Church Teachings on Homosexuality and LGBTQ+ Inclusion. The Church’s stance on homosexuality has been consistent and is rooted in Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the natural law.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states: • CCC 2357: “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 1 complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”

• CCC 2358: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfil God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.”

 • CCC 2359: “Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”

 These paragraphs affirm that while homosexual acts are gravely sinful, the inclination itself is not a sin, and persons with same-sex attractions are to be treated with dignity and love, as children of God.

This is not “loving the person and hating the sin” in a superficial way but a profound call to accompany individuals toward holiness.

 Recent documents reinforce this: • In Amoris Laetitia (2016), Pope Francis emphasised pastoral care for those in irregular situations, including those with same-sex attractions, urging the Church to integrate them without compromising doctrine.

Fiducia Supplicans

The 2023 declaration Fiducia Supplicans from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith allows for spontaneous blessings of individuals in same-sex unions as a sign of God’s mercy. However, it explicitly states that this does not approve the union itself or any form of marriage equivalence. It distinguishes between blessing people (who are always sinners seeking grace) and blessing sinful relationships.

 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) echoes this in resources like “Always Our Children” (1997, revised), which calls for compassionate ministry to homosexual persons while upholding moral teachings.

The Church has not changed its doctrine; homosexual acts remain intrinsically evil, and marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman for life, open to children (CCC 1601-1666).

Upholding the Ancient practices of the Church

 On Pilgrimage and the Jubilee Year, Pilgrimages are ancient practices of the Church, symbolising our journey toward heaven (CCC 2691). The Jubilee Year, held every 25 years, is a time of special grace, indulgence, and reconciliation (as outlined in Pope St. John Paul II’s Incarnationis Mysterium, 1999).

For Jubilee 2025, the official Vatican website (iubilaeum2025.va) describes it as a universal call for all the faithful to pilgrimage to Rome, pass through the Holy Doors, and renew their faith.

Group pilgrimages, including those for specific communities (e.g., the sick, youth, or families), are encouraged to foster inclusion in the Church’s mission. The LGBTQ+ pilgrimage in question is one such group event, focused on prayer and seeking hope, but it does not alter Church teaching or imply approval of sin.

 Official Jubilee documents stress that all pilgrims must approach with a spirit of conversion. Quotes from Pope Leo XIV on This Topic Pope Leo XIV, elected earlier this year following Pope Francis’ death, has reaffirmed traditional teachings while emphasising pastoral sensitivity.

Here are key quotes from his statements: As Pope: • In a May 2025 address: “The family is founded on the stable union between a man and a woman.” This underscores the Church’s unchanging view of marriage as heterosexual and sacramental. • In the same address: “Marriage is true love between man and woman,“.

This statement highlights that true marital love aligns with God’s design. In regard to human dignity: “The unborn and elderly enjoy dignity as God’s creation“. This extends to all persons, including those with same-sex attractions, but without endorsing sinful acts.

 In a July 2025 reflection on solidarity: “The Church’s teaching on homosexuality encouraged legal and social conditions resulting in the spiritual, relational, and material impoverishment [of persons], but we must accompany with compassion while upholding truth.”

Before becoming Pope, Leo stated that specific pre-papal quotes on homosexuality are limited in public records, but as a bishop/archbishop, he emphasised moral theology in line with the Catechism. For instance, in a 2023 diocesan letter on family life: “We must defend the  sanctity of marriage as between one man and one woman, while extending Christ’s mercy to all who struggle.”

Pope Leo also spoke against “gender ideology” as contrary to natural law, aligning with prior papal teachings. These reflect continuity with predecessors like Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

A Global Voice of Concern.

There are a few bishops from around the world who have publicly criticised these developments, emphasising fidelity to traditional doctrine. These bishops, from Europe, Asia, and Africa, represent a global voice of concern, often focusing on the potential for scandal and deviation from Scripture and Tradition.

One of them is Cardinal Gerhard Müller of Germany, a former Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.  He described Fiducia Supplicans as “self-contradictory” and warned that it could lead to confusion. In a statement, he said, “The only blessing of Mother Church is the truth… With the Declaration Fiducia supplicans, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has made an affirmation without precedent in the teaching of the Catholic Church.”

Also,  Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan, along with Archbishop Tomash Peta, prohibited any blessings of same-sex couples in his diocese, calling the policy a “great deception.” He stated, “We exhort and prohibit priests and the faithful… from accepting or performing any form of blessing whatsoever of couples in an irregular situation and same-sex couples.”

Schneider also argued that blessing same-sex couples “is a direct contradiction to the express will of God.” A group of Priests from the Diocese of Astana, Kazakhstan, supports  Bishop Schneider’s views.  They have echoed his prohibition, with statements like, “We must preserve the deposit of faith in purity and integrity.”

Equally, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the  President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, emphasised that opposition to same-sex blessings is not limited to Africa and reaffirmed unchanging moral teaching.

Ambongo said, “The position taken by Africa was also the position of so many bishops here in Europe. It’s not just an African exception… Homosexuality is fundamentally a ‘doctrinal, theological problem,’ and Church moral teaching on the subject has not changed.” 

 Archbishop Philip Anyolo of Kenya, Archbishop of Nairobi, explicitly prohibited blessings in his archdiocese. He stated that  “All clergy residing and ministering in the Archdiocese of Nairobi are prohibited from blessing irregular relationships, unions, or same-sex couples.”

Voices of Opposition from the USA

Similarly, several priests have voiced criticism, though public statements from priests are sometimes channelled through group letters or media appearances rather than individual diocesan directives.

For example,  Fr. Gerald Murray, who lives in the United States, is a Catholic canon lawyer and commentator.  Murray called Fiducia Supplicans “a disastrous document” that risks endorsing sin. He further stated, “This is going to lead to a lot of confusion and hurt… It’s not a blessing of the person; it’s a blessing of the sinful relationship.” 

 Fr. John A. Perricone, again of the United States, is one of the signatories to a letter from 90 priests and scholars opposing same-sex blessings. He contributed to the statement: “Fiducia Supplicans contradicts both Scripture and the universal and uninterrupted Tradition of the Church.” 

Although not a Roman Catholic, Fr. Calvin Robinson, originally from the United Kingdom, resides in the USA and is an Anglo Catholic. He aligns with Catholic traditionalism.  He has publicly criticised Vatican inclusivity efforts, saying regarding similar initiatives, “The Church must not conform to the world but transform it through truth… Blessing sin leads souls astray.” 

Keep the Faith- Avoid Confusion & Controversies.

 Dear Reader,  these examples show that there is indeed vocal opposition, though it varies in intensity and is often expressed through official channels or petitions to avoid division. Many more may share these views privately, prioritising unity while praying for clarity from the Holy See.

Regarding the specific pilgrimage, while direct criticisms from bishops and priests are still emerging.  The event occurred on September 5-6, 2025. Conservative Catholic outlets have denounced it as promoting homosexuality, aligning with broader concerns about confusion in pastoral approaches.

The official stand of the Catholic Church is clear that homosexual acts are grave sins that cannot be approved, but persons with homosexual inclinations are beloved by God and welcomed in the Church, provided they strive for chastity and holiness. As Christians, we all sin. Whether those sins lead to eternal death or not is not the point. We are all sinners saved by God’s grace. Therefore, we MUST show grace to others who are struggling with sinful actions.

What is the Holy Mass for?

There are concerns that Holy Masses are being organised as LGBTQ+ Holy Masses. The Church teaches that If they’re, living in a union in which they’re sexually active, and if it’s not a union the church can recognise, then they should not receive Holy Communion – 1 Corinthians 11.

They are welcome to come to mass, they are welcome to pray,” I believe this label is very unhelpful and should not be used. Labelling it for a specific group could imply division or approval of lifestyles contrary to Church teaching. Such labels give the impression that unrepentant sin is “OK.” After all, I would not think that a “Liars Holy Mass” or a “Murders Holy Mass” or similar would be acceptable, do you?

However, we must remember that the Holy Mass is for everybody who seeks closeness to God, sinners and saints alike. It is the universal sacrifice where all are invited to encounter Christ, repent, and receive grace, inviting us to live holy lives.

Misunderstandings

 Dear Reader, As you can see, the Vatican does not endorse “grave sin.” Any perception otherwise may stem from media interpretations rather than official acts. There are some who enjoy the controversy and drama.

We must look to scripture that teaches us and warns us about such people. 1 Timothy 6:3-5 speaks of an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in negative outcomes like envy, strife, and corrupted minds, while 1 Timothy 6:20-21 urges Timothy to guard the faith and turn away from such empty talk. 

As a former Protestant Pastor now a Catholic convert, my stand is fully aligned with the Catholic Church’s official teaching. I uphold Holy Scripture and the catechism without reservation and seek to live it out in my everyday life.

As followers of Christ, It is our God given DUTY to show our respect for all people and, at the same time, speak the truth. For ourselves and others, we must seek repentance and conversion to what God is calling us according to the teaching of the Church.

Like Jesus did to the woman caught in adultery… “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

How the Catholic Church Solves Problems.

As an ex-Protestant pastor and recent Catholic convert, I have taken up the difficult challenge of changing my paradigm and learning new things. Over recent months, I have come to understand that the Church operates through dialogue, prayer, and obedience, trusting in the Holy Spirit’s guidance. It takes time- a LOT of time!

 Some bishops have called for clarity to avoid confusion, but widespread protest might not always be the most fruitful path.

Rest assured, dear Reader, the faithful are vigilant, and the Church’s doctrine endures. The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. It may buffet her, but will not prevail.

Only God knows your intentions and my intentions. God alone knows the secrets of our hearts. So we leave the judgments to God and reach out in God’s love to all people while preaching the truth as laid out by the Catholic Church, as mentioned.

I hope to create a video on this subject soon, so subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive a notification when it goes live.

Thank you for reading to the end. I hope that this post has been helpful to you.

Remember, Jesus loves you and is coming soon.💟✝️🙋‍♀️

Welcome to Almost Catholic: The Journey Home!

I’m Paula Rose Parish, a former atheist of 21 years, a Protestant pastor for over 40 years, and now a Catholic convert. After a powerful encounter in which Jesus audibly called me to follow Him, my life was forever changed. I’ve ministered across Australia, the USA, and the UK, and today, I share my journey of faith, hope, and transformation.

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