“[Gay people] are our sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and neighbors and colleagues.”

The world’s top bishops and cardinals are meeting at the Vatican for the next three weeks to talk about the church’s doctrine on the family. The conference, called a synod, comes at a time when contemporary culture, particularly in the West, seems to have drifted away from traditional church teachings on same-sex marriage and the treatment of LGBT Catholics. Many of the 270 clergymen assembled at the Vatican this week agreed that this gap existed and that the church needs to find a way to engage in dialogue with the world. “We need to speak about what the church teaches but must also avoid a ghetto mentality,” Archbishop Maria Celli, President of the Pontifical Council of Social Communication, said during a synod press briefing on Tuesday.

Source: Vatican: Gay People Are ‘Our Sons And Daughters’