A Fracture in the Synod: A Bishop Speaks Out Against the Use of the Term LGBT
Abp. Charles Chaput.
The theme of sexuality, discussed at the Synod for Young People on October 4, 2018, was the source of a controversy on the use of the term LGBT in official documents; Archbishop Charles Chaput, archbishop of Philadelphia, PA, spoke strongly against this terminology.
The preparatory document for the Synod (Instrumentum Laboris) crossed the Rubicon, using the term LGBT for the first time: a perfect way to draw a reaction from prelates attached to the traditional moral teaching of the Church.
“‘LGBTQ’ and similar language should not be used in Church documents,” protested Archbishop Chaput, going on to explain:
there is no such thing as an ‘LGBTQ Catholic’ or a ‘transgender Catholic’ or a ‘heterosexual Catholic,’ as if our sexual appetites defined who we are; as if these designations described discrete communities of differing but equal integrity within the real ecclesial community, the body of Jesus Christ.
This has “never been true in the life of the Church and is not true now. It follows that ‘LGBTQ’ and similar language should not be used in Church documents, because using it suggests that these are real, autonomous groups,” concluded the prelate.
The chances are that Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri – secretary for the Synod and author of the Instrumentum Laboris that used the term LGBT – did not very much appreciate this rock thrown into his garden.
Sources: Il Messagero / Catholic Herald / FSSPX.News – 10/18/2018
