A 17-year-old Catholic boy in Belgium has been barred from receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation after a teacher reported him to his bishop for stating in a religion class that LGBT ideology is “nonsense” — a position consistent with Catholic teaching.
The boy, identified only as Luca, made the comment during a class discussion at his school in the Diocese of Antwerp. His teacher filed a complaint with Bishop Johan Bonny, who subsequently denied Luca access to Confirmation. The bishop told Luca’s parents the boy had shown insufficient “openness” and needed to demonstrate more “respect” for LGBT people before he could receive the sacrament.
Bishop Bonny is one of the most prominent progressive voices in the Belgian Church and has publicly advocated for the blessing of same-sex unions for years. He was among the bishops who pushed for the reforms that eventually led to Pope Francis’ 2023 declaration Fiducia Supplicans.
Pope Leo XIV has since publicly rebuked bishops — including Cardinal Marx of Germany — for formalizing same-sex blessing programs that exceed what the Vatican authorizes. Bishop Bonny’s decision to deny a sacrament to a teenager for stating Catholic moral teaching exposes the bias against those who espose orthodox Catholic teaching as opposed to LGBT ideology.