VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — After a scandal and contradictory statements from the Vatican, an LGBT specific pilgrimage is now back in the official calendar of the 2025 Jubilee events.
On December 17, a listing for one of the many events taking place during the 2025 Jubilee Year was quietly reset in the official calendar online.
On September 6, a pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica will take place for the “Jonathan’s Tent” association and other groups. The association, known by its original Italian name Tenda di Gionata (TDG), is one of the most prominent pro-LGBT “Catholic” organizations in Italy.
Significant controversy broke out about the pilgrimage after it was first reported by Il Messaggero on December 6.
The Italian outlet had revealed that “a special moment of spirituality has been included in the official calendar of the Holy Year on Sept. 6, and the historic Baroque church of the Gesù has become the promoter of welcoming Lgbt+ pilgrims, their parents, workers, and all those who gravitate to these rainbow associations.”
The pilgrimage was named “Church, Home for All, Lgbt+ Christians and Other Existential Frontiers.”
TDG is, as a group “aimed at making ‘known the path that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians) take every day in their communities and in the various Churches.” The group looks to present tales of LGBT “experiences” so that they “can help society and the Churches to open up to the understanding and reception of homosexual people.”
In promoting LGBT prayer events in recent years, TDG have posted a number of images including an icon of Christ backed by the rainbow flag, an icon of Christ with a rainbow-colored halo, and an icon of Christ appearing as a transgender individual surrounded by individuals in modern dress.
Given TDG’s LGBT activism, and the fact that the pilgrimage was billed as an LGBT specific event – leading some to comment that it was essentially a Pride parade to the Vatican – there was widespread consternation in the Church.
Subsequently, the listing was removed from the Jubilee calendar website, though an archived version was visible. At the same time, an official from the Dicastery for Evangelization – the Vatican office chiefly responsible for the 2025 Jubilee – told media outlets on December 11 that the LGBT pilgrimage had never been listed online – something readily proved false by the archived internet entry.
Prior to the pilgrimage’s removal, a Dicastery official spoke to Reuters saying that inclusion in the official calendar did not imply support of a specific event.
On December 12, an official then stated that the pilgrimage had been removed from the calendar due to insufficient details, but that it would be re-listed shortly.
A certain limited number of events during the Jubilee Year are officially sponsored by the Vatican and its various offices. However, all pilgrimages approved by the Vatican are included in the Jubilee calendar.
RELATED: Pope Francis approves LGBT ‘pilgrimage’ for 2025 Jubilee: report
According to Il Messaggero’s original report, Pope Francis himself had been convinced of the LGBT-specific pilgrimage. The event also reportedly received backing from Cardinal Matteo Zuppi – the president of the Italian bishops’ conference – and Father Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Jesuits.
The pro-prefect for the New Evangelization section of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, reportedly collaborated with Francis to facilitate the necessary arrangements for the event.
Notwithstanding the peculiar online status of the pilgrimage during recent days, the event has been hailed as an attempt by the Holy See to foster positive relations with LGBT individuals.
“While 2025’s event may seem like a small step, when compared with how the Vatican reacted to the presence of gay people in Rome during 2000, we can see what a sea change has taken place in terms of responding to LGBTQ+ people,” wrote Francis DeBernardo, executive director of LGBT group New Ways Ministry – a group which, though receiving support from Pope Francis, remains officially condemned by the Church.
Contrasting with the arguments of those arguing for greater acceptance of LGBT ideology, Church teaching expressly condemns same-sex sexual activity.
Under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1986, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a document carefully instructing bishops on the pastoral care of homosexual persons. The CDF admonished bishops to ensure they, and any “pastoral programme” in the diocese, are “clearly stating that homosexual activity is immoral.”
Such an authentic pastoral approach would “assist homosexual persons at all levels of the spiritual life: through the sacraments, and in particular through the frequent and sincere use of the sacrament of Reconciliation, through prayer, witness, counsel and individual care,” stated the CDF.
The document added that “we wish to make it clear that departure from the Church’s teaching, or silence about it, in an effort to provide pastoral care is neither caring nor pastoral. Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral. The neglect of the Church’s position prevents homosexual men and women from receiving the care they need and deserve.”
READ: Ancient Catholic prophecies warn of a pope who will gravely harm the Church