{"id":2604389,"date":"2026-05-19T09:21:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/emergency-in-the-church-catholic-leaders-decry-vatican-report-that-pushes-homosexuality\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T09:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:28:16","slug":"emergency-in-the-church-catholic-leaders-decry-vatican-report-that-pushes-homosexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/emergency-in-the-church-catholic-leaders-decry-vatican-report-that-pushes-homosexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Leaders Decry Vatican Report That Pushes Homosexuality"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Femergency-in-the-church-catholic-leaders-decry-vatican-report-that-pushes-homosexuality%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2604389&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Outrage among some faithful Catholics has followed the Vatican\u2019s publication of a 32-page Synod <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-president-trump-gives-pardons-to-73-individuals-and-commutes-another-70-sentences-steve-bannon-is-included\/\" title=\"BREAKING: President Trump Gives Pardons to 73 Individuals and Commutes Another 70 Sentences \u2013 Steve Bannon Is Included\">study group<\/a> report that presents testimonies from two men who describe themselves as in same-sex \u201cmarriages\u201d and claim they were harmed by the Church\u2019s teaching that homosexuality is contrary to natural law. The report,produced by Study Group No. 9 initiated under Pope Francis, is criticized for reframing church teaching as \u201cemerging\u201d and \u201ccontroversial,\u201d and for arguing-using inclusive language-that Catholics can discuss same-sex \u201cmarriage\u201d in a way meant to parallel heterosexual marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Critics say the report attempts to nudge readers away from established Catholic doctrine by treating the issue as open rather than settled, and by boosting the case through personal witness accounts suggesting the problem is lack of faith rather than the union itself. Several bishops and Catholic commentators have called the document an \u201cassault\u201d on moral doctrine, warning of moral relativism and \u201cinfecting\u201d heresy, while others note the report is not official magisterial teaching but still could create confusion and shift media narratives.<\/p>\n<p>the controversy has also expanded to allegations that figures associated with LGBT advocacy-particularly Jesuit Father James Martin-played a role in bringing such testimonies into the report. Martin publicly praised the publication as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kushner-and-3-trump-era-officials-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize\/\" title=\"Kushner and 3 Trump-Era Officials Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize\">step forward<\/a> for the Church\u2019s relationship with LGBTQ Catholics. Catholic leaders like Cardinal Gerhard M\u00fcller and Cardinal Willem Eijk have urged a forceful response, arguing that Church teaching is not something to be revised or blurred through synodal processes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Vatican\u2019s decision to publish a synod study group\u2019s report that includes testimonies of two men in same-sex \u201cmarriages\u201d who claim to have been wounded by the church\u2019s teaching that homosexuality is \u201ccontrary to the natural law\u201d is drawing outrage among faithful Catholics.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month the Vatican\u2019s General Secretariat of the Synod published the 32-page <a href=\"https:\/\/www.synod.va\/content\/dam\/synod\/process\/implementation\/10workinggroups\/final-reports\/sg9\/SG-9_Final-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>, prepared by Study Group No. 9 \u2014 one of those initiated by Pope Francis in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>While originally tasked with examining issues considered to be \u201ccontroversial\u201d within the church, the group apparently decided on its own to switch \u201cparadigms\u201d by framing these issues as \u201cemerging.\u201d That move, explained early on in the report, set the stage for suggesting a shift from sound Catholic doctrine about marriage and sexuality to what canon lawyer and pastor Father Gerald Murray <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecatholicthing.org\/2026\/05\/09\/synodal-shepherds-attack-the-sheep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> a \u201cfull-fledged endorsement of the homosexual lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The authors of the jargon-infused report employed the linguistic tactics so common among those attempting to lead people to question their closely held beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>Whereas Catholic teaching asserts marriage can only be between a man and a woman, the study group went so far as to say they find it \u201cnecessary\u201d to be bold and suggest that Catholics can talk about same-sex \u201cmarriage\u201d in a way that is equal to marriage between a man and a woman. \u201cApplying principles,\u201d the study group argues, suggests a \u201crigid manner,\u201d while \u201cengaging with the lived experience of faith\u201d helps to promote \u201ca living encounter\u201d with Jesus \u201cin relation to the diverse situations of life and the many cultural contexts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In order to bolster their suggestion that the teachings of the Church be less \u201crigid,\u201d the group brought in witnesses \u2014 two men, both proud to be in same<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/noted-biblical-scholar-don-lemon-says-god-not-about-judging-people-video\/\" title=\"Noted Biblical Scholar Don Lemon Says God Not About Judging People (VIDEO)\">-sex unions<\/a> and both arguing that the church\u2019s teachings about marriage and sexuality have hurt them. The report\u2019s authors cite the testimony of one witness, claiming his account \u201cbears witness to the discovery that sin, at its root, does not consist in the (same-sex) couple relationship, but in a lack of faith in a God who desires our fulfilment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement suggests that choosing a same-sex union is not sinful itself, but doubting that God wants us to be fulfilled is.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, the study group\u2019s theme is that current Catholic teaching is \u201ccontroversial,\u201d \u201crigid,\u201d and hurtful, while \u201cemerging\u201d toward an acceptance of same-sex unions suggests openness to \u201cthe diverse situations of life,\u201d and enabling one to enjoy \u201ca living encounter\u201d with Jesus.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;Homosexual heresy is increasingly infecting the Body of the Church, and if the Pope, and with him the cardinals and bishops, do not wake up and, as responsible spiritual physicians and shepherds, clearly and courageously warn and protect people from such spiritual contagion,\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QVHIcirOBN\">https:\/\/t.co\/QVHIcirOBN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EdwardPentin\/status\/2054213224803836255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Faithful Catholics \u2014 among them prelates, priests, and veteran journalists \u2014 are calling the report another cave to moral relativism and a danger, due to the authors\u2019 attempt to invite the faithful to consider a mindset that strays from established Catholic teaching. Indeed, the report \u2014 if allowed to stand as is \u2014 will likely bring about further confusion instead of much-needed clarity.<\/p>\n<p>Writing at The Catholic Thing, Murray, pastor of St. Joseph\u2019s Church in New York City, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecatholicthing.org\/2026\/05\/09\/synodal-shepherds-attack-the-sheep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a> a key question: \u201cWhy would the Synod of Bishops publish interviews with men who reject Catholic teaching on the nature of marriage, inspired as it is by the Holy Spirit, as part of its effort to discern the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Church today?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer, he observed, lies in the study group\u2019s report itself, and that is, \u201cthe Synod considers so-called homosexual marriage to be an open question\u201d \u2014 not already long-decided as diverging from Catholic teaching.<\/p>\n<p>Bishop Joseph Strickland, bishop emeritus of Tyler, Texas, <a href=\"https:\/\/pillarsoffaith.net\/an-emergency-in-the-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> the report an \u201cemergency in the Church,\u201d a \u201cdirect assault on Catholic moral doctrine,\u201d and an \u201cattempt to normalize or redefine homosexual relationships\u201d for the sake of having the church appear \u201cmore acceptable to the modern world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the Church does not belong to the modern world,\u201d the bishop asserted. \u201cThe Church belongs to Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan <a href=\"https:\/\/dianemontagna.substack.com\/p\/bishop-schneider-vaticans-synod-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warned<\/a> that the report serves the Vatican only in advancing the church toward \u201ctotal moral relativism,\u201d and echoed the dangers of heresy \u201cinfecting the Body of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schneider told Vatican journalist Diane Montagna that the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops \u201chas stooped to promoting the propaganda of a global sexual ideology that is being aggressively pushed in politics and the media worldwide.\u201d The bishop also cited well-known LGBT activist Jesuit Father James Martin as \u201cmerely a clerical henchman of this anti-Christian and blasphemous ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a subsequent <a href=\"https:\/\/dianemontagna.substack.com\/p\/fr-james-martin-the-mastermind-behind\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">piece<\/a> published Thursday, Montagna revealed Martin as a \u201ckey figure\u201d in the move to include the testimonies of the men in same-sex unions in the study group\u2019s report.<\/p>\n<p>The first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.synod.va\/content\/dam\/synod\/process\/implementation\/10workinggroups\/final-reports\/sg9\/Testimony-A1-Homosexuality.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testimony<\/a>, according to Montagna, was provided by \u201ca Portuguese layman\u201d disclosed in the Spanish-language online publication <a href=\"https:\/\/pagina-catolica.blogspot.com\/2026\/05\/se-sabe-quien-escribio-el-testimonio.html#more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">P\u00e1gina Cat\u00f3lica<\/a> to have ties to Martin. Montagna further reported that the author of the second <a href=\"https:\/\/www.synod.va\/content\/dam\/synod\/process\/implementation\/10workinggroups\/final-reports\/sg9\/Testimony-A2-Homosexuality.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testimony<\/a> was <a href=\"https:\/\/dianemontagna.substack.com\/p\/has-the-vaticans-synod-office-become\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">identified<\/a> as Jason Steidl Jack, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/19\/us\/catholic-gay-blessing-pope-francis.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appeared<\/a> in 2023 with his \u201chusband\u201d in The New York Times as both were blessed by Martin just \u201cone day after the release of <em>Fiducia Supplicans<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Martin was pleased with the Vatican study group\u2019s report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs far as I know, this marks the first time that a Vatican report has included such detailed stories from LGBTQ Catholics,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/outreach.faith\/2026\/05\/vatican-listens-to-lgbtq-people-a-major-step-forward\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> at Outreach upon the document\u2019s release. \u201cAs such, it marks a significant step forward in the church\u2019s relationship with the LGBTQ community.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">News: By including (and publishing) the testimonies of two LGBTQ Catholics in a Synod final report, the church has taken a significant step forward.   <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aF5Ig4RVhL\">https:\/\/t.co\/aF5Ig4RVhL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JamesMartinSJ\/status\/2051736245890433178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Schneider said homosexual and gender ideology activists \u201care seeking the Church\u2019s moral and doctrinal approval\u201d of their activity and lifestyles \u2014 all \u201cconduct that is contrary to God\u2019s creation and the natural order\u201d of two sexes \u2014 male and female.<\/p>\n<p>Veteran Catholic journalist Phil Lawler considered the idea that there are Vatican officials seeking to promote a homosexual agenda within the church. But the founder of Catholic World News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicculture.org\/commentary\/vaticans-lavender-mafia-strikes-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reminded<\/a> Catholics that the study group\u2019s report \u201cis just that: a report, with no magisterial authority\u201d that would change the teachings of the church. Still, another danger lies in the report\u2019s \u201chostile portrayal\u201d of faithful Catholics \u2014 one perspective many in the establishment media will easily carry forward, Lawler warned.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifesitenews.com\/blogs\/cardinal-muller-condemns-pro-homosexual-synod-report-heretical-lgbt-ideology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> to LifeSiteNews, German Cardinal Gerhard M\u00fcller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, commented that all the synod groups are \u201cfatally similar\u201d in that they are skeptical of the central tenets of Catholic teachings and attempt to show themselves as joining with identified groups in order to earn the attention of their ideological heroes. The study groups, M\u00fcller said, \u201cdo not <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >openly deny revealed truths<\/a>. But they leave them aside and build alongside them their own edifice of a comfortable Christianity that is conformed to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dutch Cardinal Willem Eijk, the archbishop of Utrecht, Holland, <a href=\"https:\/\/edwardpentin.substack.com\/p\/cardinal-eijk-report-of-synod-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> that the study group\u2019s report is a \u201ctroubling departure from the Catholic Church\u2019s consistent moral teaching\u201d and one that \u201cdemands a forceful response\u201d due to its creation of \u201cdangerous ambiguity.\u201d Eijk assured faithful Catholics that \u201ca number of cardinals and bishops will make their objections known to the Roman Magisterium.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Church\u2019s teaching is not obscure, nor is it subject to revision through synodal processes,\u201d the cardinal said. \u201cIt is the truth that sets us free.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Susan Berry, Ph.D., is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-independent-journalist-tayler-hansen-a-riot-that-turned-deadly-what-i-witnessed-at-the-us-capitol-riot\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Independent Journalist Tayler Hansen: A Riot that Turned Deadly, What I Witnessed at the US Capitol Riot\">independent journalist<\/a> who has worked for Breitbart News and CatholicVote and now writes for Lumen-News.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vatican synod report includes testimonies from same-sex couples; faithful Catholics react with outrage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4270,"featured_media":2604392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Copy-of-Untitled-2026-05-18T151426.581.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[33551,50410,43455,41110,9367],"class_list":["post-2604389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-catholic-church","tag-controversy-2","tag-faith-leaders","tag-lgbt-rights","tag-vatican"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Copy-of-Untitled-2026-05-18T151426.581.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4270"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604389"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2604394,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604389\/revisions\/2604394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}