A Roman Catholic Church hierarch called on members of the LGBT community to participate in the life of the Catholic Church

Bishop José Antonio Satoé of the Spanish Diocese of Málaga delivered an official address to the participants of the 15th meeting “LGBT Christians,” in which he called on members of that community to become more actively involved in the life of the Catholic Church. This message was sent to the forum held in the Spanish city of Chipiona.

In his letter, José Antonio Satoe emphasized that the LGBT community can make a valuable contribution to the Church’s activities and also find spiritual enrichment within the organization. The bishop emphasized that every person, regardless of their sexual orientation, is a child of God and possesses inherent dignity. In addition, he expressed regret over the “wounds” suffered by members of the LGBT community within the Church.

At the conference, which brought together more than 100 activists from various European countries, the formation of a national network of LGBT groups was announced. According to the participants’ plans, by the end of this year, a petition will be drafted addressed to the Spanish episcopate, demanding that their representatives be included in the process of developing the Roman Catholic Church’s pastoral programs.

As a reminder, Archbishop Francesco Moraglia of Venice had previously officially expressed his support for the initiative to build a mosque in Mestre, a district on the mainland. The clergyman’s position is based on the conviction that the Muslim community must be provided with dignified conditions for performing religious rites.