Pope speaks about homosexuality

'Pope Francis was game-changer for LGBT Catholics'

LGBT+ Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council

Pope Francis was a "real game-changer" when it came to the Catholic Church's treatment of gay people, a London LGBT+ faith group has said.

Martin Pendergast, the secretary of the LGBT+ Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council, said the pontiff had turned away from "really quite offensive" statements made by his predecessors on issues of sexuality and gender identity.

While Pope Francis maintained the Vatican's position that homosexual acts were sinful, he said gay people should not be marginalised from the Church, adding: "Who am I to judge?"

The LGBT+ Catholics Westminster group met the Pope at the Vatican in , which Mr Pendergast said caused controversy.

"More conservative Catholics were up in arms because they saw this as the Pope affirming an LGBT collective such as we were and are," he said.

He described the meeting as a "very significant step" in improving the Church's relations with the LGBT+ comm

Pope Francis: Who am I to judge gay people?

His remarks on gay people are being seen as much less judgemental than his predecessor's position on the issue.

Pope Benedict XVI signed a document in that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests.

But Pope Francis said gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten.

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well," Pope Francis said in a wide-ranging minute long interview with Vatican journalists.

"It says they should not be marginalised because of this but that they must be integrated into society."

But he condemned what he described as lobbying by same-sex attracted people.

"The problem is not having this orientation," he said. "We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of excessive people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem."

On the role of women in the Church, he said: "We cannot limit the role of women in the Church to altar girls or the president of a charity

Pope Francis allows blessings for same-sex couples under certain conditions

The Vatican has approved a landmark verdict to allow Roman Catholic priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples as long as they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies, nor given in contexts related to civil unions or weddings.

A document from the Vatican’s doctrinal office approved by Pope Francis on Monday said such blessings would not legitimise irregular situations but be a sign that God welcomes all.

Pope slams ‘indifference’ towards migrants arriving in Europe by sea

list 2 of 4

Pope opens Vatican meeting amid tensions with conservatives

list 3 of 4

‘Terrorism’: Israel-Hamas conflict has gone ‘beyond war’ says Pope Francis

list 4 of 4

Pope Francis cancels trip to Dubai’s COP28 over health issues

end of list

The document backed “the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the matching sex” but “this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not ev

Seven Quotes That Make Pope Francis Complicated for LGBTQ+ People

Francis' tenure as pope has also been notable by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community for his adoption of a more conciliatory tone toward LGBTQ+ people than that of his predecessors. "But anyone who utters Christian words without putting them into train hurts oneself and others," said Pope Francis in

So where does Pope Francis stand on LGBTQ+ people?

ON INCLUSION

[07/]
"If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them?"

Let's start off with one of the most decisive moments in Francis' papacy for LGBTQ+ people. When asked about gay priests during a spontaneous exchange with the compress, he responded, "If they [gay priests] accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn't be marginalized. The tendency [same-sex attraction] is not the difficulty they're our brothers."¹

The fact that Pope Francis made such a comment – and used the word "gay" in English – was radical, and helped propel significant conversations in parishes and dioce