The importance of LGBTQIA+ inclusive liberating theologies (Atena Editora)

Abstract

Nowadays, a significant number of Catholic LGBT people struggle so that, without denying their sexuality, they can continue participating in the Catholic faith, and then with the families they are forming, be included and integrated in the religious communities in which they live. This way, following the guidance of Pope Francis, in the Exhortation AMORIS LAETITIA, 2016, n. 297, where he says that "Everyone must be helped to find his or her own way of participating in the ecclesial community [...]. I am not only referring to divorced people living in a new union, but to everyone, whatever situation they find themselves in. "Within the debate "religion, secularism and democracy", we want to reflect on the importance of knowing LGBTQIA+ inclusive liberating theologies. And based on the all powerful God in love, on scientific knowledge about this group, and on contextualized biblical reflections, communities can through the ethics of inclusion, experience empathy as an element of unconditional love, so that LGBTQIA+ people are welcomed, respected as they are, and integrated, as people loved by God. With this goal, this article, initially published in the Proceedings of the 330th Congress of Soter, in Brazil, in 2021, brings reflections: - on the demands of this group; - what LGBTQIA+ inclusive liberating theologies are; - and the need for the Church to be open to the new times, to welcome and integrate all people.