Every 25 years, the Church hosts a Jubilee—a special year of remission of sins, debts and universal pardon. For the first time ever, under the pontificate of Pope Francis, the Church will offer a special jubilee for the LGBTQ+ community, according to Italian publication Il Messaggero:

The Jubilee proposal (which was not free from much internal resistance) finally went ahead. The Pope welcomed the idea of ​​Father Pino Piva, a Jesuit from Bologna who has always been dedicated to the rainbow world. Then, having also heard the positive opinion of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and made agreements with Archbishop Rino Fisichella, organizer of the Holy Year, it was possible to draw up a definitive program and set the days in which this very special Jubilee will be celebrated, which will be added to the many moments reserved for different categories, from the young to the elderly, from politicians, to volunteers, from workers, to entrepreneurs and so on. The Jubilee “Church, home for all, LGBT+ Christians and other existential frontiers”, this is the title chosen, is now an integral part of the Vatican’s official plan and has been included in the calendar of planned events. On Friday, September 5th at 8:00 pm in the Church of the Gesù there will be a prayer vigil, followed the following day, Saturday, September 6th at 3:00 pm by the passage through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s. The pilgrimage will end at 7:00 pm in the Church of the Gesù – where St. Ignatius and Father Arrupe are buried – with a mass entrusted to the celebration of Monsignor Francesco Savino, Bishop of Cassano all’Jonio and Vice President of the CEI. The rector of the historic Jesuit church, Father Claudio Pera, has naturally informed the General of the Society of Jesus, Father Arturo Sosa, of this journey who in an internal communication responded by encouraging them to continue. “It seems like a good thing to me” then recalling Bergoglio’s recommendations on the importance of treating this group with mercy, “who he defined as human beings with a distinct identity”. The issue of homosexuality in the Church, despite the Jubilee opening, remains pure dynamite as it recently emerged on the eve of the last synod on which strong pressure had been concentrated by many German and American reformists determined to have the Catechism modified where it speaks of “an objectively disordered inclination”, whose acts are contrary “to natural law since they preclude the sexual act from the gift of life”.

Despite calling out the problem of the problem of “faggotry” in some Catholic seminaries, Pope Francis has been very welcoming