LGBT rights in Vatican City
Location of Vatican City (green)

in Europe (dark grey)

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 LGBT rights in Vatican City is based on the Italian Zanardelli Code of 1889, since the founding of the sovereign state of the Vatican City in 1929.

Although Pope Francis, the incumbent Sovereign of Vatican City, has expressed support for same-sex civil unions, Vatican City does not currently recognize them.[1][2]

Criminal law

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]

Foreign diplomats, in order to be accredited, must not be part of a same-sex family,[4] and must not be divorced.[5] 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.[6][7]

Civil rights

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

Recognition of same-sex relationships

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.[8]

Discrimination protections

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.[9][10]

Influence on LGBT laws abroad

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.[11][12][13]

Summary table

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 N/A There are no hospitals in the Vatican to donate blood at,[14] nor any official policy to ban blood donation for homosexuals and or transgender individuals.

See also

References

  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. ^ "Vatican blocks appointment of gay diplomat". PinkNews. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Vatican accepts Juan Pablo Cafiero as Argentine Ambassador". Wikinews. 28 September 2008.
  6. ^ Heneghan, Tom (16 April 2015). "Hollande stands by his Vatican ambassador". The Tablet.
  7. ^ Heneghan, Tom (16 May 2016). "France ends 15-month stand-off by naming new ambassador to Vatican". The Tablet.
  8. ^ "Considérations à propos des projets de reconnaissance juridique des unions entre personnes homosexuelles". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  9. ^ Texte de la lettre sur le site d'Eternal World Television, Global Catholic Network (en anglais).
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Allen, John L. (22 June 2021). "Vatican invokes sovereign status to protest anti-homophobia bill". cruxnow.com. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  14. ^ "10 Vatican City Facts You Didn't Know". www.thevaticantickets.com. Retrieved 26 December 2023.

External links

Vatican City articles
LGBT rights in Europe
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