The US Embassy in the Holy See announced the celebration of Pride Month with the display of the rainbow flag in Vatican City.
The announcement was posted on Twitter on Tuesday to mark the beginning of Pride Month.
The US Embassy in the Holy See is celebrating. # Pride month With the pride flag displayed in the month of June. America respects the dignity and equality of LGBTQI+ people. LGBTQI+ rights are human rights. pic.twitter.com/Xentlnr16E
– US in the Holy See (@USinHolySee) June 1, 2021
The post announced after an earlier tweet, “America stands out in global LGBTQI+ community.”
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this is fun #Pride2021! America stands with the global LGBTQI+ community. https://t.co/dBJAXrVdR5 #YouAreIncluded pic.twitter.com/8xWKovsUcT
– US in the Holy See (@USinHolySee) June 1, 2021
A third tweet on Tuesday included a quote from Secretary of State Antony Blanken, who said, “As we celebrate Pride Month this June, let’s not just look at how we fight for people’s human rights. Limits have been reached. LGBTQI+, but also acknowledges the remaining challenges.”
.@SecBlinken: “As we celebrate Pride Month this June, we not only look back at how far we have come in the struggle for the human rights of LGBTQI+ people, but we also recognize the challenges that remain. ” Read Secretary Blanken’s statement: https://t.co/Gdopgeceor pic.twitter.com/RbMH41opHt
– US in the Holy See (@USinHolySee) June 1, 2021
“The Department is committed to increasing American engagement abroad on human rights, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) issues,” Blinkens’ statement said.
“When we do this, we work with partners from around the world who bring expertise in their unique challenges and innovative solutions,” he added.
The flag invites criticism of the Roman Catholic Church’s policy on same-sex unions.
The Vatican issued a statement in May saying, “The blessing of same-sex unions cannot be considered licensed,” USA Today reported.
“There is absolutely no basis for considering same-sex unions to be in any way identical or even identical to God’s plan for marriage and family,” the statement added.
The embassy wasn’t the only flag-raiser in Vatican City. Others included embassies in Namibia, the capital of the Republic of Namibia, and Nassau, Bahamas.
gave @USEmbNamibia Raised the rainbow flag this morning in celebration and support of Pride Month #EqualRightsForAll. #PrideMonth2021 pic.twitter.com/1VcMUSgmez
— US Embassy Namibia (@USEmbNamibia) June 1, 2021
This flag is at the height of the United States Head of Mission and the US Embassy.
: @USEmbassyNassau https://t.co/X1DIy3cxq7 pic.twitter.com/y8Zz8xiN5M
— Jasper Williams-Ward (@jasperward94) June 1, 2021
The show, which took place in Vatican City, drew a lot of criticism on social media, as users…