LGBT rights in Vatican City

The legal code regarding homosexuality in the Vatican City is based on the Italian penal code of 1929 (1969 takeover point changed to 1924), the time of the founding of the sovereign state Vatican City.

Criminal law

There are no criminal laws against same-sex sexual activity. There is an equal age of consent set at 12 years of age since 1929, when the Vatican City introduce the same law as the "Codic Penal" from Italy. When there is a relationship of dependence (like teacher/student) the age of consent is at 15 years. [Helmut Graupner: "Sexualität, Jugendschutz und Menschenrechte, Band 2" - pages 700ff, Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt - Berlin - Bern - New York - Paris - Wien 1997, ISBN 3-631-31790-5]

However, the Vatican City is a Roman Catholic theocratic city state and thus homosexuality and cross-dressing are both strongly frowned upon by the Holy See and those working thereFact|date=June 2008. Thus any public displays of affection or public acknowledgment of homosexuality or cross-dressing is likely prohibited or taboo.Fact|date=July 2008

Civil rights

Vatican City does not have any civil rights provisions that include sexual orientation or gender identity. While homosexuality is not deemed to be a sin in and of itself (it is however considered objectively disordered), homosexual acts are deemed to be sinfulFact|date=June 2008 under official Roman Catholic doctrine and thus it is highly unlikely the city will enact such anti-discrimination legislation in the foreseeable future.

In 2007, Italian members of the LGBT human rights group Arcigay held a protest in honor of the memory of an Italian gay writer named Alfredo Ormando, who committed suicide in 1998, and to protest the efforts by the Vatican government to persuade other governments not to extend legal benefits to same-sex couples.Fact|date=June 2008

Internationally, the Vatican government has campaigned against nations giving legal recognition to same-sex couples and homosexual couples being eligible to adopt or have custody of children.

Transgendered issues

In 2000, the Holy See took the official position that transsexualism does not exist and that transgender people are in fact mentally ill [http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/CatholicTSDecision.html] .

AIDS/HIV

Officially no one living in the Vatican City is infected with AIDS or HIV. Internationally, the Vatican government has been a leading opponent of the usage of condoms as part of a campaign to stop the spread of the AIDS-HIV pandemic [http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/2362] . In 2006, the Holy See said it was conducting a scientific and moral study on the usage of condoms in the fight against the pandemic [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042500826.html] .

ee also

*Roman Catholic views on homosexuality.
*Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders

References