Pope appoints pro-LGBT archbishop as secretary for Dicastery for Clergy

Archbishop of the RCC Carlo Redaelli. Photo: silerenonpossum

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Carlo Roberto Maria Redaelli as Secretary of the Dicastery for Clergy. His appointment on January 22, 2026, was announced by the Vatican press service, reports LifeSiteNews, pointing to the pro-LGBT views of the new secretary.

The appointment has caused a stir, as Redaelli has long been known for his pro-LGBT views. They are described in detail in a book by Italian journalist Luciano Moia, a staff member of Avvenire, the official daily newspaper of the Italian Episcopal Conference, published in 2020. In it, Moia argues that the Catholic Church should consider "chastity" in same-sex relationships by analogy with chastity in marriage.

As an example of such an approach, the author cites Archbishop Redaelli's reaction to a same-sex "marriage" concluded in 2017 by a Catholic scout leader. According to Moia, the hierarch "refused the role of judge," did not condemn what happened, and offered the community "joint reflection" to see "manifestations of grace" in this event. The journalist calls such a position an expression of the line of "acceptance, discernment and integration" characteristic of Pope Francis's pontificate.

Meanwhile, such views directly contradict the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the publication reminds. The Catechism of the Catholic Church unambiguously states that homosexual acts "are intrinsically disordered," "contrary to the natural law," and "under no circumstances can be approved".

The Secretary will oversee matters of diocesan clergy, formation of candidates for priesthood, seminary work and discipline; after Pope Francis's reforms, the Dicastery (a department of the Roman Curia in the Catholic Church that performs the functions of a ministry or department) also handles matters related to the personal prelature Opus Dei.

As the UOJ reported, Patriarch Bartholomew and the Pope signed a declaration on the path to full communion.

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