Feminist and LGTBI+ collectives demand full equality in the Church during the Pope's mass in Madrid

The visit of Pope Leo XIV to Madrid has also served as a loudspeaker for those who demand profound changes within the Catholic Church. Groups of women and LGTBI+ people attended the mass celebrated in Cibeles square to demand a more inclusive institution and denounce the discrimination that, in their opinion, they continue to suffer within the ecclesial community.

Members of Revolt of Women in the Church gathered with purple scarves, t-shirts, and umbrellas to demand effective equality for women within the ecclesiastical structure. Under the slogan "Until equality becomes custom," they demanded a less hierarchical Church more in line with the message of equality they attribute to Jesus.

"We want a Church of equals, not a Church of the powerful," they defend from the association, which criticizes that the main spaces of power and representation within the institution continue to be reserved exclusively for men. The activists also lamented that women continue to be excluded from the priesthood despite many claiming to feel that vocation.

Along with them, members of the association Christians of LGTBI+ Christian Community of Madrid (Crismhom) also participated, demanding full recognition of homosexual people within the Church. Among their main demands is unrestricted access to all sacraments and the recognition of same-sex couples.

"God has created us, loves us, and we can be believers and be LGTBI+," they affirm in Crismhom, which asks the Church to recognize the reality of homosexual couples and abandon a vision that limits their affective expression to celibacy or chastity.

The demands culminated with a call for the full inclusion of all baptized faithful: "We are all equal." The groups hope that the pontificate of Leo XIV will open a new stage of dialogue on equality, diversity, and rights within the Catholic Church.