Vatican expresses warmth towards gay and LGBT community for first time in major shift

At just over the halfway mark in the Roman Catholic churches’ two-week Synod the assembly has issued a document summing up the debates so far. It contains for the first time praise for the homosexual and LGBT community and represents a clear break with the past.

It is also a symptom of the behind-closed-door warfare going on between Conservatives and supporters of Pope Francis, like the President of the European Conference of Bishops.

“Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community: Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities?” said the Archbishop of Budapest Peter Erdo.

While no-one suggests gay marriage is being discussed it appears the Synod may also relax restrictions on divorcees attending communion, and with resistance to contraception softening this Synod may be the most radical since Vatican II in the 1960s. EuroNews