CREMONA, Italy (LifeSiteNews) — The Diocese of Cremona in Italy has announced two events this spring focused on promoting same-sex relationships and opposition to supposed discrimination against LGBT lifestyles.
On April 16, the Diocese of Cremona scheduled two initiatives to be held in the Lombardy city: a theological meeting on April 24 and a prayer vigil on May 8, both in a diocesan church, organized by parish bodies to address questions related to same-sex relationships and the inclusion of people identifying as LGBT within Catholic communities. The news gained national attention after reporting by Italian outlet La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana.
“The Diocese of Cremona continues to focus on people who identify as same‑sex attracted and transgender, as well as their families, so that they may feel increasingly part of the community,” organizers stated in the diocesan announcement. The aim of the two events “is to help them understand that truly ‘He is Lord of all’ (Acts 10:36), as the initiative’s slogan, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, recalls.”
“Invoking the Spirit together and placing ourselves in listening to the Word are the fundamental attitudes for living a communal discernment,” the announcement continued regarding the May 8 vigil.
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The location for both events will be the Church of San Giuseppe in Cambonino. The first event will feature Jesuit priest Father Iuri Sandrin. The meeting is described as a biblical-theological reflection. “Starting from listening to the Word of God, it will help reflect on how same‑sex relationships challenge Christian communities. Just as Peter, perplexed, wondered to himself what the meaning of what he had seen might be (Acts 10:17), so too today’s Christian communities ask themselves many questions regarding the reality of LGBT+ persons and the path that can be taken together,” the diocese said.
The planned prayer vigil for May 8, presided over by Bishop Antonio Napolioni, is explicitly described as being “for the overcoming of all discrimination, and in particular of homophobia and transphobia.”
The announcement also recalls a previous meeting held the year before, during which participants engaged with a psychologist and a theologian to clarify terms such as “sexual identity,” “sexual orientation,” and “gender.” According to the diocesan commission responsible for the initiative, that earlier event revealed a need for further discussion, as misunderstandings of such terminology were said to create obstacles to dialogue within Catholic communities.
In addition, the diocesan text cites the final document of the Italian Episcopal Synod, particularly paragraph 30, which “calls the ecclesial community to be a space in which everyone can feel understood, welcomed, accompanied, and encouraged, with particular attention to those who remain on the margins.” The document further urged “local Churches, overcoming the discriminatory attitude sometimes found in ecclesial environments and in society, to commit themselves to promoting the recognition and accompaniment of same‑sex‑attracted and transgender persons, as well as their parents, who already belong to the Christian community.”
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The document, titled Lievito di pace e di speranza (“Leaven of Peace and Hope”), was approved on October 25, 2025, by an overwhelming majority, despite the objections of a few bishops. Although it is not a magisterial text, the Italian Bishops’ Conference is using it as a reference point for numerous pastoral initiatives throughout Italy.
Among the most controversial elements are a broader normalization of non-heterosexual romantic relationships (not only those who identify as LGBT); the call to overcome “gender stereotypes,” which is also linked to further exploration of the question of the female diaconate; the establishment of diocesan days against so-called homophobia and transphobia, or at least clerical support for existing civil initiatives of this kind (which – though not explicit – opens the possibility for clergy to take part in events such as gay “pride” marches); and above all, the directive that dioceses should not merely accompany but also “recognize same‑sex‑attracted and transgender persons and their families,” adopting terminology typical of the LGBT sphere and foreign to traditional Catholic philosophy.
Both Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church are clear in condemning homosexual practice – not mere sexual desires – because the purpose of every sexual act (even among a heterosexual couple) is openness to life, not pleasure for its own sake.
Saint Paul wrote that “God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature. And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts one towards another, men with men working that which is filthy, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error” (Romans 1:26‑27).
In another passage, saint Paul teaches: “Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: […] nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind […] shall possess the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
According to the Catechism: “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved” (n. 2357).
Foreseeing the easy criticisms of those who justify altering the Word of God by invoking bullying, discrimination, and unjust mistreatment of those who experience this kind of attraction, the Catechism adds: “The number of men and women who have deep‑seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” (n. 2358)