Dissenters rip Cardinal Ratzinger’s 1986 letter on homosexuality on 40th anniversary
October 30, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: Critics of Catholic teaching on the immorality of homosexual acts strongly criticized the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s letter to bishops on the pastoral care of homosexual persons, 40 years after its publication.
At the time, the congregation’s prefect was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
“We were horrified when we read it, but I would say we were not surprised,” said Sister Jeannine Gramick, cofounder of New Ways Ministry.
“I was really shocked,” added New Ways Ministry executive director Francis DeBernardo. “It just seemed so un-Catholic to me.”
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