NEW Vatican report on homosexuality ignites intense debate

Last week, the Vatican released a report from Study Group 9 of the Synod on Synodality, one of 10 groups set up by Pope Francis in 2024 to examine controversial issues.

Titled “Theological Criteria and Synodal Methodologies for Shared Discernment of Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues,” the report presented testimonies from two gay Catholic men in same-sex civil marriages.

The report has sparked quite a controversy in the Catholic faith. Very traditional Catholics — and even some evangelical Christians — have largely viewed it as dangerous and subversive, seeing it as undermining long-standing Church teaching on the sinfulness of homosexual acts by platforming positive testimonies of same-sex “marriages” and downplaying doctrine in favor of subjective experience.

BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler, who describes herself as a devout Catholic, addressed the synod report on a recent episode of “The Liz Wheeler Show.”

She first addresses the panic of those who interpret the report as indicative of imminent change to Church doctrine.

“One of these documents from a synod is not Church dogma. It is not magisterial teaching. It has no authority to change doctrine of the Church. It is at best … an advisory committee that puts together reports that advise the pope on how to handle issues pastorally,” she says, noting that the pope is free to “accept these recommendations or not.”

As of now, Pope Leo XIV has neither formally accepted nor rejected the report.

“Even if he did [accept it], it’s not binding. It’s not doctrine or dogma,” says Liz.

That said, she acknowledges that ”there is valid concern that the ‘pastoral’ nature of this advice will encroach, at least in praxis, on the official teaching, the unchangeable doctrine, of the Church — at least at the local level,” which Liz says would be “a moral travesty” despite the fact that the “teaching remains unchangeable.”

After reading the report herself, she admits that the report is written “in an ambiguous way” that makes it unclear whether or not the synod is neutrally summarizing testimonies of two gay Catholic couples or “embracing” their viewpoints and lifestyle.

“The generous way to interpret this [synodal report] would be listening to people who struggle with sin can help you help them; there is value in hearing what led someone to a particular struggle,” says Liz.

“That would be fine … as long as your goal for these people is the fullness of Christ, as long as your goal is not indulgence, an excuse for their sin, redefinition of sin,” she explains. “So if this synod report that includes these testimonies is including the testimonies because they want to better understand how to bring these people out of their sin into the fullness of Christ, OK, that’s fine.”

Liz admits that she is reluctant to be generous in her reading of the synod report because of the ambiguity in which the testimonies are presented.

“How on earth could you not clarify whether you are embracing that testimony or whether you are simply summarizing it — especially when you know it will cause tremendous confusion, even scandal, among the faithful?” she asks.

The “defensive way” to interpret the report, says Liz, is to read it as a genuine attempt “to sneak effective changes to doctrine that [homosexuality advocates] have no authority to change into the pastoral practice of the Church, hoping it becomes the de facto norm in the Church, despite the contradiction to unchangeable Church teaching.”

While Liz is torn between the generous and defensive interpretations, the most important thing, she says, is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church actually teaches: that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered, are contrary to natural law, and can never be approved, but that people with deep-seated homosexual tendencies must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity, with every sign of unjust discrimination avoided, and are called to live chastely through self-mastery, prayer, and friendship.

“That is the official, unchangeable teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality, and it’s beautiful,” she says.

To hear more of Liz’s analysis, watch the episode above.

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