By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-12-14 00:06:08 | Updated at 2024-12-14 07:42:11
7 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // Controversy and lack of clarity continue to surround the reported “LGBT Jubilee pilgrimage,” following its initial inclusion and then removal from the Vatican’s official Jubilee calendar.
The Italian pro-LGBT association La Tenda di Gionata (Jonathan’s Tent), which is organizing the event, announced it has received Vatican approval to make a pilgrimage in Rome during the Jubilee Year 2025.
The Register reported that the group has invited LGBT+ individuals, their families, and pastoral workers to “officially cross the Holy Door of the Jubilee at St. Peter’s Basilica” on Sept. 6, 2025, followed by a Mass at the Jesuit Church of the Gesù, celebrated by Monsignor Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Episcopal Conference. A prayer vigil is also scheduled for the evening before the pilgrimage.
The event was initially listed on the Vatican’s official Jubilee website but later removed following public backlash.
>> LGBT JUBILEE EVENT REMOVED FROM OFFICIAL VATICAN CALENDAR AFTER BACKLASH <<
Jubilee spokesperson Agnese Palmucci stated to the Register that the event was included in the general calendar as one of many pilgrimages but clarified it was not an official Jubilee event sponsored or organized by Vatican authorities.
According to Italian news outlet Il Messaggero, the initiative was conceived by Jesuit priest Fr. Pino Piva and reportedly approved by Pope Francis, with the support of figures like Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and Jesuit superior general Fr. Arturo Sosa. According to Il Messaggero, which described the event as a “novelty,” Fr. Sosa referred to the pilgrimage as “a good thing,” though the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization refrained from direct comment.
Jonathan’s Tent continues to advertise the event on its website, stating that the Vatican has accepted their request for an official pilgrimage.
LifeSiteNews has reported on past events by La Tenda di Gionata, noting their use of blasphemous icons depicting Christ with rainbow-colored halos. The group’s ongoing promotion of the pilgrimage has further fueled criticism of its departure from Catholic moral doctrine.
Following the event’s removal from the Jubilee website Dec. 10, The Pillar reported conflicting statements from Vatican officials. According to The Pillar, a spokesperson for the Dicastery for Evangelization denied the event was ever listed on the Jubilee website, despite archived versions confirming its inclusion.
The Register reported that Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry, a pro-LGBT group denounced by the U.S. bishops’ conference and the Vatican’s doctrinal office, welcomed the pilgrimage announcement. DeBernardo cited the event as evidence of so-called “progress” in the Vatican, contrasting it with the disapproval of LGBTQ groups under St. John Paul II during the 2000 Jubilee.
Efforts to clarify Vatican support for an LGBT-specific pilgrimage during Jubilee 2025 have been met with mixed responses and silence from key figures. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni did not comment when asked by the Register about Pope Francis’ position on the event.
According to the Pentin, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and head of Italy’s bishops, avoided directly addressing whether he supported the initiative, referring inquiries to the Jubilee organizers. The rector of the Church of the Gesù, where the pilgrimage will begin with a prayer vigil, also declined to comment.
Jubilee organizer Agnese Palmucci told the Register that the event, like others on the calendar, is “autonomous” and merely scheduled if dates are available, with no official endorsement or judgment. Palmucci said the office only manages major Jubilee events, adding that they do not evaluate the content of other pilgrimages. However, he did not address whether there are any groups the organizers would refuse to schedule.
Writing for the Catholic daily La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, Vatican journalist Luisella Scrosati denounced the event as a “defeat” for the Church’s moral doctrine and pastoral mission, accusing church leaders of introducing “false mercy” into sacred spaces, citing Matthew 24:15.
Scrosati argued that the Church’s endorsement of groups promoting homosexuality as an identity undermines its teaching on sexual morality. She emphasized that members of such associations are being led to believe the “lie” that tendencies disordered in light of Church teaching are not in conflict with their God-given nature.
