For the first time, LGBT+ activists were received at the Vatican.

For the first time in history, the Vatican welcomed LGBT+ activists and groups from around the world and condemned the violence.

April 5, 2019

Photos: Courtesy of Ilga and María Belén Correa

In a historic meeting held today at the Vatican, leaders of the Catholic Church met with activists from LGBTI+ groups and condemned the violence. “Cardinal and Secretary of State Pietro Parolin (the highest authority in the Holy See after the Pope) received preliminary results of a research project on the criminalization of same-sex relationships in the Caribbean,” reported ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), which participated in the meeting. This organization is linked to some 1,500 LGBTQ+ groups in 152 countries.

Members of ILGA. On the right, Pedro Paradiso Sottile, from ILGA LAC.

Upon receiving the investigation, the cardinal stated that "the Church opposes all forms of violence and defends the dignity of every person," Ilga reported. Parolin pledged to forward the information to the Pope to continue the dialogue.

María Belén Correa, a trans activist, also participated in the meeting. She said the meeting was initially scheduled with Pope Francis, but was canceled, according to the Holy See, due to other commitments on his schedule. In a subsequent press conference, she said, "I hope Pope Francis ends the holy war that Bergoglio started" against LGBT+ people.

Activist María Belén Correa, at a press conference after the meeting.

Other organizations and activists from around the world participated in the meeting, including another Argentinian, Pedro Paradiso Sottile, an activist from ILGALAC - the area of ILGA dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean - where the organization estimates a third of the world's Catholic population lives.

Proud to participate in this historic moment where, for the first time, #LGBTI are received at the #Vatican by Secretary of State Parolin. We ask @Pontifex_es to speak out against violence and the criminalization of LGBTI people worldwide! pic.twitter.com/qwUjepb81M

— 🏳️‍🌈Pedro Paradiso Sottile🏳️‍🌈 (@paradisosottile) April 5, 2019

The reports that the organizations submitted to the cardinal, urging the Catholic Church to speak out against the violence that LGBT+ people experience daily, illustrate the serious legal and social situation in many Caribbean countries. In this part of the world, as of 2019, eight countries still criminalized same-sex relationships.

These investigations into the criminalization of sexual diversity are being carried out by the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights with the support of the International Bar Association and ILANUD.

“The meeting and exchange we had today with one of the main leaders of the Catholic Church is very significant,” said André du Plessis, Executive Director of ILGA . “This door opened by the Vatican is a moment of true blessing and grace for the future, even as we work with those whose lives are destroyed by discrimination, violence, and exclusion at the hands of the Church. At ILGA, we have been working with different religious groups around the world. For the next steps in this dialogue with the Vatican, we simply say: we are ready.”

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