Italian Catholic Scouts Adopt New Policy Regarding LGBT People

The National Association of Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts (AGESCI) has approved new rules aimed at supporting and integrating LGBT people into the scout movement. According to New Ways Ministry , the association published a document titled “Gender Identity and Sexual and Affective Orientation.”

The document notes that sexual orientation and gender identity can no longer be criteria for exclusion when selecting adult candidates for educational and leadership roles within the organization. It also emphasizes the need to overcome homophobia, lesbophobia, and transphobia at all levels of the association.

The leadership of the organization links the adoption of the new rules to a broader process of inclusivity being discussed as part of the Catholic Church’s synodal path, and references Pope Francis’s teachings on mercy. The approval of the document was preceded by a multi-year period of internal discussions that began in 2019.