Meeting Of Catholic Bishops Signals Growing Acceptance For LGBT Members
VATICAN CITY (CBS) - Gay rights groups are hailing a new attitude toward LGBT members coming out of a Vatican meeting on family life.
The meeting - known as a synod - was called by Pope Francis to discuss hot-button issues such as same-sex unions, divorce and birth control. No formal decisions were reached Monday, but CBS News reports that the tone of initial reports coming out of the two-day meeting indicate a major shift from condemnation to acceptance, including a call to recognize the positive aspects of civil unions and the potential benefits from establishing commitments from the gay community to the church.
Final documentation of new policies is expected Saturday.
"For the LGBT Catholics in the United States and around the world, this new document is a light in the darkness - a dramatic new tone from a church hierarchy that has long denied the very existence of committed and loving gay and lesbian partnerships," said Chad Griffin, president of Human Rights Campaign, the biggest LGBT rights organization in the U.S.
Conservative groups denounced the report as heresy and a "betrayal" that will only serve to confuse Catholics.
