Madrid seminary denies pro-LGBT training program, but InfoVaticana stands by report

MADRID (LifeSiteNews) — Madrid’s Catholic seminary has denied reports that an LGBT advocacy group delivered a training program to its seminarians, rejecting a report published by the Catholic news website InfoVaticana.

On January 12, the Conciliar Seminary of Madrid issued an official statement rejecting a report published on January 8 by the Spanish Catholic website InfoVaticana, which claimed that a total of 12 hours of pastoral training sessions had been delivered to seminarians of the Archdiocese of Madrid by CRISMHOM, an association publicly identified as pro‑LGBT, during a session on November 14, 2025.

“In light of the information recently published regarding a training activity at the Conciliar Seminary of Madrid, the institution has issued a statement declaring that the reported events are false and do not correspond to reality,” the statement reads.

READ: Catholic seminarians trained by pro-LGBT group in Archdiocese of Madrid

“The sessions in question formed exclusively part of the ordinary training in pastoral planning within the vocational synthesis stage and were delivered by Fr. Jesús Sastre García, a theologian with a well‑established academic and pastoral background. At no point did they constitute an alternative doctrinal formation nor anything outside the Magisterium of the Church.”

The statement also said the seminary retains the materials used during the sessions, which it claims objectively demonstrate their nature and content. The seminary concluded by “categorically rejecting” what it described as false claims that, in its view, lack any objective foundation and lead to erroneous judgments.

Following the publication of this seminary’s statement, InfoVaticana released a detailed response disputing the denial. The website argued that the seminary’s statement did not contradict the core facts of its original report and, instead, confirmed them.

According to InfoVaticana, the seminary explicitly acknowledged that the training sessions took place, that they were delivered by Father Jesús Sastre García, and that they formed part of the seminarians’ ordinary formation schedule.

The Spanish-speaking website maintained that the seminary statement did not address what it described as a “central and verifiable element” of the story. The email address provided to seminarians as a reference contact for the course was not a personal email account but an official contact used by CRISMHOM for its spiritual accompaniment activities. InfoVaticana said it had been confirmed through “open sources.”

CRISMHOM is an LGBT association that is “publicly active in promoting a specific pastoral and doctrinal vision” which rejects the Catholic teaching that active homosexual relationships constitute sin. Their website makes extensive use of symbols, logos, and linguistic expressions that align with pro-LGBT political goals.

InfoVaticana also recalled that, earlier on the same day, January 12, a statement attributed to CRISMHOM had appeared online, initially published by the Spanish news website Religión Digital and later removed. In that earlier statement, CRISMHOM reportedly denied that the Archdiocese of Madrid had involved the association in any form of training, and claimed that the email address provided to the seminarians as the course’s point of reference with a domain linked to the pro‑LGBT association was Fr. García’s “personal” email.

InfoVaticana said this explanation, rather than resolving the issue, confirmed the functional connection between the priest and CRISMHOM’s internal structures.

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“After the disappearance of that statement, another one has now been published, this time by the Conciliar Seminary, which confirms everything reported by InfoVaticana, except on one point that is as decisive as it is problematic: the claim that the content delivered was fully in accordance with the Magisterium of the Church,” InfoVaticana stated.

The Archdiocese of Madrid has previously attracted attention for initiatives involving CRISMHOM, including events that featured testimonies from pro-LGBT families organized with the association’s participation. These initiatives have taken place under the leadership of Cardinal José Cobo Cano, archbishop of Madrid, who is publicly known for his theological and pastoral positions aligned with those of Pope Francis.