Pope Leo XVI will receive a pro-LGBTQ+ Catholic reform organization during celebrations in October, the first time the group has been invited “in this form,” the Vatican announced this week.
Eight representatives from We Are Church will visit the Vatican from October 24 to 26, during a “Jubilee of synodal teams and participatory bodies,” the Vatican’s official news source confirmed on Tuesday. The visit will come as part of the 2025 Holy Year observations, initiated by Pope Francis prior to his death in April.
We Are Church representatives will “meet with Pope Leo XIV and pass through the Holy Door,” one of the core rites of Catholic Holy Year observations, according to the Vatican.
Founded in 1995, We Are Church has been a persistent critic of the Vatican from within the Catholic Church, particularly criticizing the Church’s history of sexual abuse and its exclusion of women from religious leadership. The organization, which says it “has a presence in or is co-operating with similar groups” in more than 30 countries, also advocates for LGBTQ+ reforms within the Church, endorsing blessings for same-sex couples and calling for an “end of the exclusion of LGBTQ persons” in 2021.
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