Gay people must be ‘welcomed’ and ‘treated with respect’, the Vatican has insisted in the run up to a historic sex and relationships conference this autumn.
Hundreds of bishops from all over the world will meet in Rome in October to assess church teaching on controversial subjects – although it continues to shy from recognising gay marriage.
In a working document to set the stage for the so-called Synod on the Family, the Vatican said: ‘Every person, regardless of their sexual orientation, must be treated with respect, and welcomed with sensitivity and politeness, both in the church as well as in society’.