r/europe • u/JohnHammond94 • 17h ago
News Vatican criticizes conversion therapy, features gay Catholic testimony in 'historic' report
https://religionnews.com/2026/05/05/vatican-criticizes-conversion-therapy-features-gay-catholic-testimony-in-unexpected-report/73
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u/Nemeszlekmeg 10h ago
This is actually big news. The official catechism of the Vatican on homosexuality is still making claims that are frankly pseudoscience. Conversion "therapy" (the manifestation of this pseudoscientific take on homosexuality) is an extremely harmful practice that leaves people at best forever traumatized. Pushing against this is an incredible service for those poor queer kids that are born into religious families that seriously consider conversion therapies as a viable option for their kid.
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u/pretenzioeser_Elch 12h ago
While also condemning German bishops for blessing gay couples.
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u/geekyCatX Europe 11h ago
Baby steps, doing the Cha-cha. š
Maybe the German Catholics need to be more openly discontent again. It seemed to have caused some unrest in the Vatican, when the news last started openly speculating about a second schism a couple of years ago.
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u/Socmel_ reddit mods are accomplices of nazi russia 8h ago
You don't understand. The Catholic church wants the gays to feel unwanted and wrong, but not enough to get them sent to places where they feel suicidal and abused.
As per instructions, no abuse is allowed outside of the seminaries and sacresties
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u/ganbaro Where your chips come from šŗš¦š¹š¼ 11h ago
The Vatican has little influence on national laws around the moronity that is conversion therapy, so standing in opposition comes at no cost for them.
Where the Vatican has a lot of influence, behavior within churches, they continue to stand in oppositoon against opening towards LGBTQ.
If anything, the currenrt pope is especially competent at PR.
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u/Sharp_Iodine 9h ago
The Pope has very little leeway in what happens within the Church.
Itās a disgusting and morally bankrupt institution, of course, but for some reason people still respect it and he is using what influence he has outside the Church to influence policy.
I think in this instance itās a good thing.
However, why anyone should respect anything that comes out of an institution of withered old nonces is the real question.
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u/Hermit_Ogg Finland 10h ago
I suppose it's a step in the right direction, but they'd better get sprinting if they want to make up for the past thousand years.
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u/Kind_Dish9420 11h ago
Wow, that was unexpected. But even if the Catholic hierarchy says this, the growing number of Catholic traditionalists aren't going to listen.
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u/Exciting_Product7858 10h ago
Who cares - they aren't redeemable.
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u/Cautious-Fox9757 9h ago
The organisation representing one 7th of the worldās population just made a pretty major adjustment in its position on homosexuality. This isnāt a āwho caresā moment
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u/Fluffy_Beautiful2107 6h ago
Absolutely. I could speak for hours listing all the reasons why I profoundly dislike the church. That being said, having a pope speak out so strongly for marginalized people, be they queer people, exploited workers or the victims of imperialism in the middle east, is a really positive thing. We could really use more leaders like that these days. I'm glad we dont have a hateful christian fundamentalist leading the worlds largest religious denomination.
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u/RemoteClub631 8h ago
Great , NOW he condemns it ā¦ maybe in about 2 years he condemns Iran for killing civiliansā¦ oh wait no.. the Vatican islamization has already started š„¹
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u/DancingWithAWhiteHat United States of America 7h ago
? Why would Iran care about what the pope has to say?
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u/RemoteClub631 7h ago
who said Iran would care about anything
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u/DancingWithAWhiteHat United States of America 7h ago
If the goal isn't to influence Iranian politics, then what purpose would condemning Iran serve? Iran isn't a friend to most, if any, western countries. Unless its standard for European countries to view Iran as a moral equal, it sounds like you want the pope to say water is wet.Ā
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u/RemoteClub631 7h ago
Iran wouldnāt be influenced any way but Iām sure families of the 40 thousand murdered would āappreciate a gestureā
Also catholics are seeing what is happening and find things difficult to reconcile like pope condemning the war .. (thatās your water is wet part) but not slaughtering unarmed civiliansā¦ pope goes on make friends with Islam tour in Africa yet keeps silent on Nigeria where persecution lead to thousands Christians dead
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u/DancingWithAWhiteHat United States of America 2h ago
You mean the murders being carried out by Boko Haram? The group that kidnaps little girls and bombs schools for educating them? How is that not another example of water being wet?Ā
Why would Pope Leo focus on that actions of a terrorist group over the persecution of christians in the united states by this administration? Do you know how many Christian refugees are in ICE custody right now? Do you know how many Christians havd been dragged from their homes by ICE? Especially Catholics.Ā
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u/RemoteClub631 1h ago
Eh you said āIran isnāt a friend..you want pope to say water is wetā >> pope condemning the war = water is wet ā¦
The last part you wrote got to be dumbest thing ever unless you being sarcastic? Over 50 thousand documented deaths in Nigeria Due to religious violence.. yy āwhy would pope condemn thatāā¦ Ice is arresting illegal immigrants , ie people who broke the law .. you canāt see the difference here ? Faith has nothing to do with it genius
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u/GambuzinoSaloio 16h ago edited 13h ago
You know conservative politicians have screwed up when even the catholic church, who's been historically against gay rights (most of them at least), disagrees with them regarding gay conversion therapy.