Catholics Want Vatican to End Anti-Gay Stance

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A new survey indicates that 63% or more of Catholics from the eight countries with the largest Catholic populations want the Catholic Church hierarchy to end the Vatican's continued anti-gay dogma and animus.  The countries surveyed were Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Philippines, United States, France, Spain and Italy. Collectively these countries comprise half of the world’s total population of baptized Catholics.  Among Millennials and younger generations anti-gay stances are a number one factor in the decision to walk away from religion (rank hypocrisy of supposed "Christians" also plays a significant role).  The release of the findings comes less than two weeks before the beginning of the Catholic Church’s Synod on Young People in Rome which, among other things, seeks to find ways to stem the hemorrhaging of younger generations from the Church (my own three Millennial children have all walked away).   Gay Star News looks at the findings and Pope Francis' statement earlier in the year that psychiatric help was appropriate for LGBT youth.  Many saw this as an endorsement of discredited "conversion therapy."  Here are article excerpts:

The majority of practicing Catholics want the Church to be more inclusive of young LGBT people, a survey reveals.

Many Catholics are calling for a more positive approach towards young people. They are also urging the Church to change its teaching on LGBTI in order to be more welcoming of lesbian, gay, bi and trans teens.

YouGov carried the survey for the Equal Future 2018 Campaign.  Equal Future 2018 is an international campaign aiming to convey a positive message of acceptance to LGBT kids. Its goal is to raise awareness around the world of the damage done to children when they perceive that being LGBT would be a misfortune or a disappointment.

These poll findings are a clarion call to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church from its members that it is time to change their approach to LGBT people,’ Campaign Director of Equal Future 2018 Tiernan Brady said.

‘The people of the Catholic Church are leading the way on LGBT issues and it is time the upper management caught up with their flock.’

“The figures clearly show that Catholic people across the globe believe that the current teaching and approach of the hierarchy towards LGBT people is now damaging to children and young people and the clear majority wants the Church to change its approach.”  This is not a call for change from outside the Church, it is from its own people.’

‘The truth is that far too many children and young people grow up thinking that if they or someone they knew turned out to be LGBT it would be bad luck or a disappointment. Most of the damage that comes from learning such attitudes happens to children and young people long before anyone knows if they are LGBT or not,’ Brady continued.

On his way back from Dublin, where the Meeting of Families took place in August, the pope replied to a journalist asking what to do if a child comes out as gay, bi, or trans.

He said that if children comes out as LGBT in their early years, therapy might be a useful solution.  Perceived by some as an eerie reference to conversion therapy, the statement received the criticism of the LGBT community.

My own Catholic upbringing did severe damage to me and it took years of therapy to get over the damage.   The Vatican's position on gays certainly played a role in my children's exodus from the Church.  Historically, lost of membership and the attendant loss of financial revenues are the only things that has caused the Vatican to change.  The question ultimately becomes one of whether the Vatican is willing to have the Catholic Church shrink in size and have an increasingly ignorant and uneducated membership.