The Youth synod’s working document uses the “LGBT” acronym used by the homosexual movement instead of “same-sex attraction” and appears to place heterosexual and homosexual couples on the same level. The document omits references to Church teaching that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.”
The 34,000-word document also emphasizes the need for catechesis, the practice of charity and for young Catholics not only to have a better understanding of the Church’s social doctrine but also to be active in politics. It further recognizes the detrimental effects of an absence of fatherhood, especially in the West, which can affect spiritual paternity.
The document refers to those young people who wish to move away from traditions because they are “stuck in the past” or “out of “fashion,” but also singles out other young people who “seek their identity by taking root in familiar traditions and striving to be faithful to the education they have received.”
But perhaps reflective of today’s hypersexualized society, especially in the West, the document is notable for being laden with references to sexuality (25 mentions in total, compared to Jesus who is referenced 17 times).
In controversial passages, it proposes that “many” young people believe “the question of sexuality must be discussed more openly and without prejudice.” It also uses the loaded acronym “LGBT” — a term used by the homosexual movement — instead of what the Church has hitherto used (those “suffering same-sex attraction”) and appears to place heterosexual and homosexual couples on the same level while omitting to reassert the Church’s teaching that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.”