Courage, a Catholic-Orthodox ministry that supports gay people, has filed a complaint against the Vatican Synod for slander and defamation

(ZENIT News / Rome, 05.11.2026).- A rarely seen public clash has emerged between a longstanding Catholic apostolate and the Vatican’s synodal structures, exposing deeper tensions inside the Church over pastoral care for Catholics who experience same-sex attraction.

Courage International, a ministry founded more than four decades ago to accompany men and women seeking to live according to the Catholic Church’s teaching on chastity, issued an unusually forceful statement on May 8 accusing the Vatican’s General Secretariat of the Synod of publishing what it called a “false and unjust” portrayal of its work.

The dispute centers on a synodal working-group document released three days earlier under the title “Theological Criteria and Synodal Methodologies for Shared Discernment of Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues.” The text included testimony from a man in a civil same-sex union who described negative experiences attending Courage meetings in the past.

According to the anonymous testimony, the meetings were “secretive and hidden,” and participants often appeared “lonely, hopeless, and depressed.” The testimony was included in an annex accompanying the final report of Working Group 9, part of the wider synodal process initiated under Pope Francis and continued during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.

For Courage leaders, however, the issue was not merely criticism, but what they consider institutional misrepresentation.

In its response, the apostolate accused the synodal report of both “calumny and detraction,” arguing that Vatican officials presented one individual’s negative interpretation as though it reflected the organization as a whole. Courage strongly rejected suggestions that it promotes so-called “reparative therapy,” insisting that its mission has always been spiritual accompaniment rooted in Catholic doctrine rather than psychological conversion programs.

The organization also argued that the confidential nature of its meetings had been unfairly characterized as secrecy. Like many support groups dealing with deeply personal struggles, Courage maintains strict privacy rules so participants can speak openly without fear of exposure or public scrutiny.

The statement acknowledged that many people who experience same-sex attraction do indeed struggle with loneliness or discouragement at times, but insisted that this reality is precisely why the ministry exists.

“What the report describes as hidden,” one could paraphrase from the group’s argument, “members understand as protected.”

The unusually sharp tone of the response reflects how sensitive the issue has become within contemporary Catholic debates. For years, the Church has attempted to balance two priorities that often appear in tension: maintaining doctrinal continuity regarding sexuality and marriage while also improving pastoral outreach and avoiding language perceived as harsh or exclusionary.

Courage has historically represented one of the clearest expressions of the Church’s traditional pastoral model in this area. Founded at the request of Terence Cooke and led initially by Father John Harvey, the apostolate held its first official meeting in New York in 1980. Harvey, who died in 2010, became one of the most prominent Catholic voices advocating a life of chastity for people with same-sex attraction while rejecting the reduction of human identity to sexual inclination.

The organization developed what became known as the “Five Goals of Courage”: chastity, prayer and dedication, fellowship, support, and good example.

Over time, the ministry expanded internationally. Today, Courage reports having more than 160 chapters in 15 countries, while its companion ministry, EnCourage — founded for relatives and friends of people identifying as LGBT — operates more than 100 chapters in eight countries.

In 2016, Courage and EnCourage received canonical recognition in the Catholic Church as a diocesan clerical association of the faithful.

The controversy now unfolding is significant not only because of the criticism itself, but because it illustrates a broader ecclesial divide over language, anthropology, and pastoral strategy.

The synodal process has frequently emphasized listening to personal experiences, particularly those of Catholics who feel marginalized within the Church. Supporters of this approach argue that testimonies reveal wounds and pastoral failures that institutions sometimes overlook. Critics, however, worry that subjective experiences can be elevated in ways that obscure or weaken doctrinal clarity.

That tension is evident in the Courage dispute. The apostolate argues that Vatican officials failed to consult its leadership before including accusations tied to its ministry in an official ecclesiastical document. According to Courage, a simple conversation could have clarified that the group neither conducts nor endorses “reparative therapy.”

Instead, the organization says, it found itself publicly portrayed through the lens of a single dissatisfied participant.

The controversy also reveals how dramatically the pastoral vocabulary surrounding homosexuality has evolved in the Church during the last several decades. When Courage emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, many Catholic ministries addressing same-sex attraction focused primarily on moral theology and spiritual discipline. Today, discussions are shaped far more heavily by questions of identity, inclusion, psychological well-being, and ecclesial belonging.

For many faithful Catholics who continue to uphold traditional Church teaching on sexuality, Courage has become a rare space where that teaching is presented not as abstract doctrine but as a lived spiritual path. For critics, however, the ministry represents an outdated framework insufficiently attentive to contemporary understandings of sexuality and personal identity.

The Vatican document itself did not formally condemn Courage. Yet because the criticism appeared in an official synodal text, the organization clearly viewed the episode as carrying institutional weight far beyond an isolated personal testimony.

In its concluding remarks, Courage extended an invitation to synod officials to meet directly with chaplains and members in order to better understand the apostolate’s work and history.

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