Vatican's new LGBT report won't change much for Hamilton Catholics

A Hamilton LGBT activist welcomed news that the Vatican is considering changes to better respect and support lesbians and gay people, but local Catholic authorities say nothing has changed.

In a preliminary report released midway through a closed-door debate on family issues — which was initiated by Pope Francis — bishops at the Vatican said LGBT people have "gifts and qualities" to offer and said the church should be a welcoming place for them. The church is also debating how it can treat divorced Catholics better.

Still, the Catholic church has not its changed doctrine. Nor has it ordered its diocese around the world to change the way they operate.

Deirdre Pike, a gay rights activist and longtime Catholic, said the change in the Vatican's tone is good news, but "the only proof this has any momentum" will come on Sunday, when the city's priests lead mass.

Hamilton Catholic Our Lady of All Souls Church Sign

Monsignor Murray Kroetsch, the official spokesman and chancellor for the Diocese of Hamilton, said the church 'deplores any treatment of homosexual persons which diminishes their human dignity.' (John Rieti/CBC)

She wants religious leaders to speak up in support of the gay community now, instead of waiting for an official verdict to come from Rome.

"They'd just be aligned with the conversation that's happening. If you and I are talking about it, priests should be talking about it and exploring it," Pike said.

"Many priests have stood up in pulpits on Sundays and condemned LGBT people, condemned homosexuality in a very hurtful, negative, oppressive way, and they've done that without instruction from the Vatican. So I think that they can teach compassion and love without instruction from the Vatican."

Monsignor Murray Kroetsch, the official spokesman and chancellor for the Diocese of Hamilton, however, said the Vatican's comments don't represent a "seismic shift" (a description used in an Associated Press story on the report) toward gays and lesbians.

"The Church deplores any treatment of homosexual persons which diminishes their human dignity," Kroetsch said in an email to CBC Hamilton.

"Hence, for Synod members to say that gays have 'gifts and qualities' to offer and to ask rhetorically if the Church is ready to provide them a welcoming place, 'accepting and valuing their sexual orientation without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony' is not a departure from existing Church policy."

Gay students still face oppression

A change in policy and practice couldn't come soon enough for Hamilton's LGBT students, Pike warned.

"The fact is, I have a student doing a co-op placement with me that had to leave her Catholic school because of the abuse she was facing from both students and teachers," she said.

"There's lots of Catholic kids facing oppression because of their sexual orientation."

Pike said whether or not the Vatican's message makes it to Hamilton is especially important given the strength of the city's Catholic churches and school board. And, she said, she'll be waiting for Sunday to see if a splash made at the Vatican makes any ripples here.

No change at Catholic schools: board chair

The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board also downplayed the news surrounding the report.

'Everything I've read to date would not change our practices'- Patrick Daly, Chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board

"What I read is not a whole lot different. Clearly, what the church teaches and what our school teaches is love for all people, and that we're not to discriminate against anyone," said Patrick Daly, the school board's chair, adding he could only comment on what he'd read in the media.

"Everything I've read to date would not change our practices."

Daly said the board will "wait and see" what ultimately comes out of the Vatican's discussions of homosexuality. He said any change to the church's teachings would be communicated to Ontario bishops, who would then help the school board shape any changes to its rules.

When asked if the Vatican's tone would embolden schools to make changes like creating LGBT support clubs, Daly said similar things are already in place.

"We've encouraged — and some schools use different names — Respecting Differences Clubs, in terms of inclusive, anti-bullying clubs," he said.

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