US Embassies Fly LGBT Flag with Biden Admin's Blessing, Including at the Vatican
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See announced its celebration of Pride Month with the display of a rainbow flag in Vatican City.
The announcement was posted on Twitter on Tuesday to mark the beginning of Pride Month.
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See celebrates #PrideMonth with the Pride flag on display during the month of June. The United States respects the dignity and equality of LGBTQI+ people. LGBTQI+ rights are human rights. pic.twitter.com/Xentlnr16E
— U.S. in Holy See (@USinHolySee) June 1, 2021
The post followed an earlier tweet that announced, “The United States stands with the global LGBTQI+ community.”
Happy #Pride2021! The United States stands with the global LGBTQI+ community. https://t.co/dBJAXrVdR5 #YouAreIncluded pic.twitter.com/8xWKovsUcT
— U.S. in Holy See (@USinHolySee) June 1, 2021
A third tweet on Tuesday included a quote from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that said, “As we celebrate Pride Month this June, let us not only observe how far we have come in the struggle for the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons, but also acknowledge the challenges that remain.”
.@SecBlinken: “As we celebrate Pride Month this June, let us not only observe how far we have come in the struggle for the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons, but also acknowledge the challenges that remain.” Read Secretary Blinken’s statement: https://t.co/Gdopgeceor pic.twitter.com/RbMH41opHt
— U.S. in Holy See (@USinHolySee) June 1, 2021
Blinkens’ statement said, “The Department has committed to increasing U.S. engagement on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) human rights issues abroad.”
He added, “As we do so, we work with partners around the world who bring to bear expertise on their unique challenges and innovative solutions.”
The flag implicitly criticizes the Roman Catholic Church’s policy on same-sex unions.
The Vatican released a statement in May that said, “The blessing of homosexual unions cannot be considered licit,” USA Today reported.
The statement added “there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.”
The embassy in Vatican City wasn’t the only one to fly the flag. Others included the embassies in Namibia, capital of the Republic of Namibia, and Nassau, Bahamas.
The @USEmbNamibia raised the rainbow flag this morning in celebration of Pride Month and support for #EqualRightsForAll. #PrideMonth2021 pic.twitter.com/1VcMUSgmez
— U.S. Embassy Namibia (@USEmbNamibia) June 1, 2021
The flag is up at the United States’ chief of mission residence and the US embassy.
?: @USEmbassyNassau https://t.co/X1DIy3cxq7 pic.twitter.com/y8Zz8xiN5M
— Jasper Williams-Ward (@jasperward94) June 1, 2021
The display at Vatican City drew plenty of criticism on social media, as users wondered if the Biden administration would do the same in countries that are more openly hostile to gay rights.
Gonna do the same in the Middle East?
— ☦ (@johnamonaco) June 1, 2021
Out of curiosity… is this happening everywhere? At the embassy in Saudi Arabia, for example?https://t.co/hX6jCCYuvg
— Raymond McCue ?⚤?⚣? (@RayMcCue) June 1, 2021
The Biden administration’s policy contrasts with the view the Trump administration took in 2019.
The Trump administration rejected requests from U.S. embassies to fly a rainbow pride flag, The Washington Post reported at the time.
However, several U.S. embassies disregarded the State Department’s directive not to display rainbow flags on flagpoles during Pride Month, according to The Post.
“This is a category one insurrection,” one diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Post.
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