Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are, and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ+ people into the church.
Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, and he himself referred to the issue in terms of “sin.” But he attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone.
During an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Pope said, “Being homosexual isn’t a crime.”
Francis’ comments, which were hailed by gay rights advocates as a milestone, are the first uttered by a pope about such laws. But they are also consistent with his overall approach to LGBTQ+ people and belief that the Catholic Church should welcome everyone and not discriminate.
Francis quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church in saying gay people must be welcomed and respected, and should not be marginalized or discriminated against.
The pope’s comments didn’t specifically address transgender or nonbinary people, just homosexuality, but advocates of greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church hailed the pope’s comments as a momentous advance.
Francis said there needed to be a distinction between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality. Church teaching holds that homosexual acts are sinful, or “intrinsically disordered,” but that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect.
His remarks come ahead of a trip to Africa, where such laws are common, as they are in the Middle East. Many date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law. Some Catholic bishops have strongly upheld them as consistent with Vatican teaching, while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.
How others reacted?
According to The Human Dignity Trust, which works to end such laws, some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty.
New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said the church hierarchy’s silence on such laws until now had had devastating effects, perpetuating such policies and fueling violent rhetoric against LGBTQ+ people.
One of the cardinals recently appointed by the pope – Robert McElroy, the bishop of San Diego — is among those Catholics who would like the church to go further, and fully welcome LGBTQ+ people into the church even if they are sexually active.
McElroy wrote in the Jesuit magazine America, “The church’s primary witness in the face of this bigotry must be one of embrace rather than distance or condemnation. It is a demonic mystery of the human soul why so many men and women have a profound and visceral animus toward members of the L.G.B.T. communities.”
His stand in the past:
Starting with his famous 2013 declaration, “Who am I to judge?” — when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest — Francis has gone on to minister repeatedly and publicly to the gay and transgender communities. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he favored granting legal protections to same-sex couples as an alternative to endorsing gay marriage, which Catholic doctrine forbids.
Despite such outreach, Francis was criticized by the Catholic gay community for a 2021 decree from the Vatican’s doctrine office that said the church cannot bless same-sex unions.
In 2019, Francis had been expected to issue a statement opposing the criminalization of homosexuality during a meeting with human rights groups that conducted research into the effects of such laws and so-called “conversion therapies.”
In the end, after word of the audience leaked, the pope didn’t meet with the groups. Instead, Vatican No. 2 did and reaffirmed “the dignity of every human person and against every form of violence.”
Francis has not changed the church’s teaching, which has long riled gay Catholics. But he has made reaching out to LGBTQ+ people a hallmark of his papacy.
What happened next?
After his recent comments on homosexuality and its acceptance, Pope penned a response to a letter from Father James Martin, SJ, who carries out his apostolate among the LGBTQ community in the United States. He said, “I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin.” The Pope's handwritten response in Spanish was posted on Father Martin's website, along with a translation in English.
In his letter, Pope Francis reiterated that his position is that of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as he had already said in his first interview with reporters on the flight back from Brazil in 2013 - "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?".
Responding to Fr. Martin, the Pope stressed that, regarding sin, “one must also consider the circumstances, which may decrease or eliminate fault.”
Pope Francis went on in his letter to repeat that being homosexual is not a crime.
