DignityUSA, the world’s oldest organization of LGBTQ+ Catholics and supporters, says the Vatican Synod study group’s final report on “Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues” contains hopeful possibilities for LGBTQ+ people and families, but leaves many questions unanswered about how the ongoing work of engaging in dialogue and discernment called for by the document will occur.

“This document demonstrates a welcome humility and openness to learning from the People of God about their lives and faith journeys,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA. “It is clear that the study group members understand that the doctrines of the church undermine the deep relationship with God that many LGBTQ+ people have, or try to have, and that this needs to be corrected. Church officials have decades of testimony from people who have found their sexual orientation or gender identity to be a blessing and a gift, and their relationships to be sacred. To see this reality reflected and respected in this document is a long-awaited positive step.”

Duddy-Burke noted that the document provides few concrete recommendations and proposes no doctrinal changes. Rather, it calls for dialogue, encounter, and communal theological reflection to shape how the Catholic church moves forward in addressing doctrine and pastoral practice. “The ‘paradigm shift repeatedly called for in this report is a significant and very welcome change,” she said. “Experience must inform dogma.”

Duddy-Burke noted that the document provides few concrete recommendations and proposes no doctrinal changes. Rather, it calls for dialogue, encounter, and communal theological reflection to shape how the Catholic Church moves forward in addressing doctrine and pastoral practice.

“This kind of dialogue and engagement are exactly what DignityUSA, LGBTQ+ Catholics, families, and frontline ministers have been calling for, and offering to the larger church, for decades,” said Duddy-Burke. “Here in the United States, we have seen tremendous growth in support among Catholics who have put in the time and effort to understand their LGBTQ+ family members and friends. However, very few church leaders have been willing to listen with open hearts and minds. Will more of them take the call of the Synod process seriously? How will this dialogue take place in parts of the world where it is unsafe for people to identify as LGBTQ+? These are huge questions for us.

“The experiences of transgender and nonbinary people are barely addressed in the report,” continued Duddy-Burke. “However, there is an important section that speaks about the integration of oneself, including the integration of one’s body, reason, will, and emotions. This may prove pivotal in deconstructing our church’s current anthropology that relies on the theology of male-female complementarity. We hope this is given serious consideration.”

Duddy-Burke also noted the irony of the document reflecting on the testimonies of two LGBTQ+ individuals but then quoting positively from two Vatican documents that have been very harmful to the LGBTQ+ community. “The study group members’ failure to acknowledge the damage done to so many people and families by the dehumanizing language used towards LGBTQ+ people, and the condemnation by the Vatican of same-sex relationships and efforts to protect our human rights, may undermine the positive aspects of their work,” she said.

Duddy-Burke concluded, “This document signals that the work that groups like DignityUSA and so many others have been doing for years has had some impact, but we still have a long way to go. We will keep claiming our place at the table, our right to be heard, and the truth of our experience. We look forward to honest and open dialogue that values each individual as beloved by God.”