SANTIAGO, Chile (LifeSiteNews) — Alberto Hurtado University, a Chilean Jesuit institution, recently held a “pride prayer” ceremony in which students of “diverse sexual orientations,” along with a pride flag, received a blessing.
The event, said to be the first of its kind at any university in Chile, was just one of the many scheduled on campus for the university’s “Pride Week” planned this June, and has drawn criticism for flouting unchangeable Church teaching on homosexuality.
Reported by InfoCatólica, the initiative was led by Jesuit priest Father Rodrigo Garcia, who heads the university’s student ministry. In a statement, Garcia referenced Pope Francis and Fiducia Supplicans, saying that he did not view the ceremony as a controversial move.
“This is not a revolutionary act. It is simply doing what Pope Francis already said: in the Church there is room for everyone, everyone, everyone,” he said.
In a video taken by ADN Chile of the ceremony, same-sex “couples” can be seen receiving a blessing from Fr. Garcia as the priest wears a rainbow-colored stole.
READ: New York bishop laments LGBT flag ripped from church while allowing blasphemous ‘pride’ Mass
The university’s director of gender, diversity, and equity, María Teresa Rojas, spoke in the video about how the ceremony emphasized that “religion and diversity can go hand in hand.”
“In the context of Pride Month, we have invited the community of students, staff, and academics to have a space for reflection through Christian prayer, a prayer that invites us to think about respect, inclusion, and the dignity of all people, and to recognize that our staff and students are also sexually diverse and, therefore, deserve a space of recognition and invitation to feel part of a community that belongs to everyone,” Rojas said.
The Chilean ceremony is not an isolated case. Similar actions by Jesuits in other regions have also sparked controversy.
For Holy Trinity Sunday, a Seattle Jesuit priest published an icon depicting the Holy Trinity as female while also including an LGBT flag.
Controversial Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin again demonstrated the significance of “pride” earlier this month on his pro-LGBT platform Outreach.
“It’s especially important for churches to mark Pride Month since much of the rejection that LGBTQ people have faced has been motivated by Christianity – at least what many people think Christianity teaches,” Martin said.
The Catholic Church has consistently held that no homosexual acts can ever be licit. Catechism #2357 of the Catholic Church specifically calls all homosexual acts “intrinsically disordered” and presents them as a “grave depravity.”
