LGBT+ Catholics Westminster meet pope Francis
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- Il Consiglio pastorale dei cattolici e delle cattoliche LGBT+ dell’arcidiocesi di Westminster (gran Bretagna) incontra Papa Francesco il 6 marzo 2019
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- Il Consiglio pastorale dei cattolici e delle cattoliche LGBT+ dell’arcidiocesi di Westminster (Gran Bretagna) incontra Papa Francesco il 6 marzo 2019
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Media release, LGBT+ Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council (United Kingdom), 11 march 2019
On Ash Wednesday, 6 March 2019, the 16 pilgrims, including parents and family members alongside LGBT Catholics with Pilgrimage Chaplain, Fr. David Stewart SJ, had privileged seats at the morning Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square. At the end of the General Audience the group was invited to meet Pope Francis – see attached photograph.
The Pilgrimage Leader, Martin Pendergast, a member of the, introduced the group to the smiling Pope Francis, explaining that they formed part of the LGBT+ pastoral ministry outreach of Westminster Diocese – see attached photograph. Each pilgrim received a gift of a rosary from Pope Francis who shook hands with the group’s members.
Later, on Ash Wednesday afternoon, the group was able to take part in Pope Francis’ Mass & Imposition of Ashes in the Church of Santa Sabina. In the evening the Group was warmly welcomed at an Ecumenical Liturgy of the Word & Blessing of Ashes with English-speaking Anglicans, Catholics and Methodists, in the Church of St.Ignatius.
The programme included a conversation with Rome-based journalists, Christopher Lamb (The Tablet) and Robert Mickens (La Croix International) giving their perspectives on Pope Francis’ Church reform strategy, not least following the recent Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit. They were also addressed by the American moral theologian, Professor James Keenan SJ, on the Pope’s response to the 2014/2015 Synods on Marriage & Family. He focused on Pope Francis’ key-principles of “accompaniment” and “moral discernment” as vital considerations in addressing LGBT concerns.
The group celebrated Mass in the room where St.Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, died; and also in the Titular Church of Cardinal Vincent Nichols – The Most Holy Redeemer & St. Alphonsus. Cardinal Nichols’ Pilgrimage
Message is attached.
Morning Prayer remembering victims of homophobia and transphobia was celebrated in the St. Bartholomew-on-the-Tiber Church, which commemorates martyrs of our own times and is run by the San Egidio Community.
> Cardinal Vincent Pilgrimage Message 2019
FURTHER INFORMATION: LGBT Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council
