First National Conference of the Catholic Church in Italy Discusses Pastoral Care with LGBTQ People

On September 4, 2026, nearly 200 pastoral workers and 10 bishops gathered in Rome, Italy, for the first national conference dedicated to pastoral ministry with LGBTQ Catholics. The event, held at the Jesuit Curia near Vatican City just before the first anniversary of the pilgrimage of LGBTQ Catholics to St. Peter’s Basilica, focused on sharing experiences of parish work with community members and their families.

According to a report by New Ways Ministry , the main theme of the discussion was the transition from treating LGBTQ people as “abstract cases” to engaging in collaborative ministry. Representatives from the dioceses of Florence, Bari-Bitonto, Cremona, and Chiavari shared local initiatives that often began not with official directives, but with personal encounters between clergy and parishioners who had been hiding their identities. Bishop Antonio Napolioni of Cremona noted that this path can only be ignored by those with “plugs in their ears and a hardened heart,” while Archbishop Gherardo Gambelli of Florence spoke of the relief parents feel when they learn their queer children are not considered “heretics or excommunicated.”

In the afternoon, leaders of major Italian Catholic associations, including the scout organization AGESCI, Catholic Action, and the Focolare Movement, discussed steps to overcome discrimination. For instance, representatives of the Italian Catholic scouts recently adopted a national document affirming that sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be grounds for exclusion from educational roles. Conference participants expressed hope for a shift from a ministry “for” LGBTQ people to an ongoing pastoral work “with” them.