SW News: Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore in the United States has said that the Catholic ministry to members of the LGBT community and their families should show charity, sensitivity, understanding and genuine accompaniment in the light of revelation and Church teaching.

Titled Like Every Disciple, the 14-page new document on the ministry was released on July 20 in his archdiocese. In its preface, the prelate said, "Like every disciple, you and I are called to a lifelong journey of turning towards the Lord, seeking to know and love him more and more deeply each day."
The advice reflects on values shared by all Catholics as well as the range of viewpoints and experiences among the so-called LGBT people, including some who feel rejected by the Church.

The starting point for the Christian journey, according to Archbishop Lori's advice, is not a decision we make or something we choose but God's call.
"God first loved us," he declared. The archbishop emphasized the significance of baptism because it is during this time that "God claims us as his own." "We were given a new identity: beloved daughters and sons of the Father," said the cardinal. "We became a new creation. The foundation of who we are is this. This is who we really are.”

The archbishop said recent decades saw an increased awareness within the Church of the experience of sisters and brothers who are same-sex attracted and the attention to those who experience gender discordance or who may consider themselves to be gender nonconforming when reflecting on cultural changes.
He wrote the Church, with a mother’s tenderness, never forsakes or abandons any of her children but seeks to draw them close and lead them to Christ, who fulfills their hearts’ desire. As Pope Francis reminds us there are three words that indicate God’s style: nearness, compassion, tenderness. If this is the method of Christ, it must also be the method of the Church.

“Whatever our gender or sexual orientation, the same is true. God loves us where we are, as we are. But God is always inviting us to a more abundant life. God loves us too much to leave us as we are. He calls each and every one of us to a lifelong journey of growing closer to him, in a word: discipleship. Following Christ is not a program of self-improvement, but an experience of falling in love with the One who first loved us. Having received this love we, in turn, are called to share that love with others,” the archbishop wrote.

“When it comes to the accompaniment of LGBT persons, two elements must be held in a life-giving tension. The first is our desire to welcome every person into a relationship with Christ and his Body, the Church. The second is the desire to lead people to the fullness of life that flows from knowing the liberating truth about the human person that has been revealed to us in nature and fully in the person of Jesus Christ.”

“The first element—the desire for charity, the desire to truly welcome and embrace sexual minorities, to hear their stories, to walk with them in their struggles—is essential. Without this, no such ministry is possible. We should not presume to understand what each person has gone through or is going through. Openness to the lived experience of LGBT persons and a desire to walk with them is essential. We also recognize the feelings of hurt and rejection that many LGBT persons may have felt from those who should care most deeply for them: family members, clergy, and members of their parish community. The response of the Church must always be the response of Christ which is love.”