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LGBTQ rights in Vatican City

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LGBTQ rights in Vatican City
Location of Vatican City (green)
StatusLegal since 1890, as part of Italy
Gender identityNo
MilitaryNo army
Discrimination protectionsNone
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo legal recognition
AdoptionNo

The legal code regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Vatican City is based on the Italian Zanardelli Code of 1889, since the founding of the sovereign state of Vatican City in 1929.

Although Pope Francis, the incumbent Sovereign of Vatican City, has expressed support for same-sex civil unions outside of the Catholic Church, he remains firm that the Sacrament of Marriage is between a man and a woman as instituted by God.[1][2]

Criminal law

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Since 1890, the territory of what is now Vatican City has had no criminal laws against non-commercial, private, adult and consensual same-sex sexual activity. The age of consent is currently set at 18 years for all persons, regardless of gender.[3] In the case of sexual relations within marriage – only in the cases of marriages recognized as valid by the Catholic Church and by the laws of Vatican City – the legal age is set at 14 years old.[4]

Foreign diplomats, in order to be accredited, must not be part of a same-sex family,[5] and must not be divorced.[6] In 2008, Jean-Loup Kuhn-Delforge, who is an openly-gay diplomat, and who is in a civil pact with his partner, was rejected by Roman Catholic officials to be the French ambassador to the Holy See. In 2015, Laurent Stefanini, an openly-gay practising Catholic diplomat was rejected by Roman Catholic officials to be the French ambassador to the Holy See, despite being single. He was backed by President Francois Hollande and was supported by France's top Curia cardinal, Jean-Louis Tauran, who was the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, and Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris. France kept their ambassador position vacant from March 2015 to May 2016 in protest, before nominating another diplomat in May 2016.[7][8]

In November 2024, it was reported by various news and media outlets that an “underground network of gay priests was running within Vatican City”.[9]

Civil rights

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Vatican City State does not have any civil rights provisions that include sexual orientation or gender identity.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

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Vatican City has always expressed disagreement with any civil recognition of same-sex unions, same-sex marriage, and against the granting of adoption rights to same-sex couples.[10]

Discrimination protections

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The Vatican reserves the right to remove, suspend and dismiss immediately any official and employee who publicly admits to being gay or questions the general policy of the Vatican towards homosexuals.[11][12]

Protests

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Activists protest in December 2008 in Milan the announcement by the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations that the Vatican will vote against a UN resolution calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality.[13][14]

On 13 January 1998, the LGBT activist of Arcigay Alfredo Ormando set himself on fire on St. Peter's Square (which is under the jurisdiction of the Vatican City) in protest against the attitude of deep-rooted refusal that has always been expressed by the Catholic religion towards homosexuality. As a result of the severe burns suffered, he died a few days later in a hospital.[15][16]

Influence

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In 2021, the Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, delivered a letter to the Italian ambassador to the Holy See, expressing "concerns" over a bill in the Italian Parliament meant to legally protect LGBT Italians against violence and discrimination. The letter claimed the section of the bill prohibiting incitement of hatred on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity constituted a violation of freedom of speech and of religion, and asked for the draft law's text to be reformulated.[17][18][19]

Summary table

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Same-sex sexual activity legal Yes (Since 1890)
Equal age of consent (18) Yes (Since 1890)
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only No (The Holy See reserves the right to remove, suspend and dismiss immediately any employee declaring themselves homosexual or against the position of the Catholic Church on homosexuality or transsexuality)
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services No
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) No
Same-sex marriage No
Gays, lesbians and bisexuals allowed to serve openly in the Gendarmerie Corps and the Pontifical Swiss Guard No
Access to IVF for lesbians No
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples No
Allowed to donate blood Yes There is no official policy to ban blood donation for LGBT individuals; however, there are no hospitals in the Vatican to donate blood at.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Same-sex civil unions 'good and helpful to many', says Pope Francis". euronews. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Francis becomes 1st pope to endorse same-sex civil unions". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Legge N. VIII: Norme complementari in materia penale, 11 July 2013 (see Article 8(4) and Article 4(a) - for sex within marriage see Article 8(5))" (PDF). Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Legge N. VIII: Norme complementari in materia penale, 11 July 2013 (see Article 8(4) and Article 4(a) - for sex within marriage see Article 8(5))" (PDF). Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Vatican blocks appointment of gay diplomat". PinkNews. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Vatican accepts Juan Pablo Cafiero as Argentine Ambassador". Wikinews. 28 September 2008.
  7. ^ Heneghan, Tom (16 April 2015). "Hollande stands by his Vatican ambassador". The Tablet.
  8. ^ Heneghan, Tom (16 May 2016). "France ends 15-month stand-off by naming new ambassador to Vatican". The Tablet.
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ "Considérations à propos des projets de reconnaissance juridique des unions entre personnes homosexuelles". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  11. ^ Texte de la lettre sur le site d'Eternal World Television, Global Catholic Network (en anglais).
  12. ^ "Stupeur au Vatican: un théologien fait son coming out... il est viré - Têtu". 17 September 2011. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Vatican attacked for opposing gay decriminalisation". Reuters. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Opposition, gay groups slam Vatican on French United Nations. proposal". Italy Magazine. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Man sets himself on fire in Vatican's St Peter's square". BBC News. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  16. ^ Andriote, John-Manuel (15 March 2013). "'Alfredo's Fire' Sure to Spark Discussion About Religion, Homosexuality and the Deadliness of Intolerance". HuffPost. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  17. ^ Horowitz, Jason (22 June 2021). "Vatican Expresses Deep Reservations Over Gay Rights Bill in Italy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  18. ^ Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli, "Italy is debating an LGBT anti-hate law. The Vatican just took a rare step to protest it," The Washington Post, 22 June 2021.
  19. ^ Allen, John L. (22 June 2021). "Vatican invokes sovereign status to protest anti-homophobia bill". cruxnow.com. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  20. ^ "10 Vatican City Facts You Didn't Know". www.thevaticantickets.com. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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