The gathering, known as “Pouť na půli cesty” (Halfway Pilgrimage), would have been the second of its kind.
It was organized jointly by pastoral teams from the dioceses of Olomouc, Brno and Ostrava-Opava, and was designed as a space for LGBTQ+ Catholics, along with relatives and friends, to pray and discuss questions of faith together.
Archdiocese spokesman Jiří Gračka told the Czech outlet Deník N that organizers faced a flood of negative and, in some cases, hateful reactions on social media once the event became public.
According to the German Catholic news site katholisch.de, the archdiocese described the atmosphere surrounding the pilgrimage as tense, pointing to hostile comments online as the deciding factor.
Gračka stressed that the cancellation was not a capitulation to pressure but a precaution.
“The reason is a highly tense atmosphere and a wave of negative, even hateful, reactions online, which made it impossible to guarantee the safety of the participants,” the pilgrimage organizers said in an official statement.
Hyacint Pavel Kuchta, a member of the archdiocese’s pastoral team for LGBTQ+ Catholics, echoed that same reasoning, saying the scale of the backlash made it impossible to promise participants’ security.
Despite calling off the large public pilgrimage, the archdiocese said it intends to continue smaller, private pastoral meetings with LGBTQ+ believers and their families.
According to AroundPrague.cz, the recent attack at Berlin’s Pride Festival heightened the safety concern.
This is not the first time LGBTQ+-related events in the region have drawn threats. A rainbow-themed fair held in central Olomouc in May was likewise targeted with hostile messages, including reported death threats, prompting several criminal complaints.
Similar pilgrimages had taken place in previous years under the sponsorship of Archbishop Josef Nuzík, who also serves as president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference.
Nuzík has previously said that pastoral outreach to LGBTQ+ individuals does not require any change in Church doctrine, but reflects the Gospel’s call to welcome everyone without exception.