Pope Francis.Photo: AYMAN HENNA/AFP via Getty
In a new interview,Pope Francisspoke out against the criminalization of homosexuality and asked Catholic bishops who support anti-gay laws to welcome the LGBTQ+ community into their churches.
While speaking to theAssociated Pressthis week, the pontiff, 86, called laws that criminalize homosexuality “unfair” and said, “being homosexual isn’t a crime.”
“We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are,” Francis told theAPin Vatican City.
According toHuman Rights Watch, at least 67 countries have national laws that criminalize same-sex relations between adults. Another nine countries have national laws criminalizing forms of gender expression aimed at transgender and gender nonconforming people.
Francis admitted there were Catholic bishops that support laws that discriminate against members of the LGBTQ+ community or criminalize homosexuality, and he asked that they reconsider their stance.
“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” he said. “[They should apply] tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”
ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
Though Francis voiced his support for the decriminalization of homosexuality, he said he still viewed it as a “sin.” But, Francis explained, he does not want “sin” and “crime” to be synonymous in relation to homosexuality.
“It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin,” he told the AP. “Fine, but first, let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”
Francis added: “It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another.”
Francis, who became head of the Catholic Church in 2013, has often made statements supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2020, he saidhe supported civil unions for same-sex couples, which was a break from the official teaching of the Catholic Church.
That same year, he told parents of LGBTQ+ youth that “God loves your children as they are.”
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Yet, in 2021, the Vatican announced that the Catholic Church could not bless same-sex unions because God “does not and cannot bless sin.”
source: people.com
