Catholic Church: 'Gay-friendly' shift prompts claims of 'betrayal'

The Catholic Church has provoked praise from liberals and unease among more traditional members by signalling a move towards greater acceptance of homosexuality – and speaking of the value of gay partnerships.

At an extraordinary synod called by Pope Francis – only the third such meeting in the Church's modern history – bishops said that gay people had "gifts and qualities to offer".

The statement stopped short of recommending that the Church should accept same-sex marriage, but it did say that gay relationships could offer "precious support.

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Francis X Rocca of the Catholic News Service said the synod's preliminary report, issued half-way through the two-week gathering, used "strikingly conciliatory language on situations contrary to Catholic teaching", Christian Today reports.

On the subject of gay Catholics, it says: "Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community. Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities?

"Without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual unions, it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners."Human Rights Campaign, a leading US gay rights organisation, said in a statement: "For the LGBT Catholics in the United States and around the world, this new document is a light in the darkness – a dramatic new tone from a Church hierarchy that has long denied the very existence of committed and loving gay and lesbian partnerships."The London-based Catholic gay rights group Quest said that parts of the report "represent a breakthrough in that they acknowledge that such unions have an intrinsic goodness and constitute a valuable contribution to wider society and the common good." However Voice Of The Family, a conservative Roman Catholic organisation, declared the report to be a "betrayal", the BBC reports.John Smeaton, co-founder of the group, called the report "one of the worst official documents drafted in Church history".The statement marks a major shift away from the position of the Catholic church under Pope Benedict, who called gay people "intrinsically disordered" when he served as head of the Vatican's doctrinal department.

Pope Francis has previously expressed a more compassionate attitude, saying last year: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?"