Pope francis stance on gay marriage

Unearthed comments from new pope alarm LGBTQ+ Catholics

After years of kind and inclusive comments from Pope Francis, LGBTQ+ Catholics expressed concern on Thursday about hostile remarks made more than a decade ago by Father Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV, in which he condemned what he called the “homosexual lifestyle” and “the redefinition of marriage” as “at odds with the Gospel”.

In a address to the world synod of bishops, the man who now leads the church said that “Western mass media is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general adj enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel – for example abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia”.

In the remarks, of which he also read portions for a video produced by the Catholic News Service, a news agency owned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the cleric blamed mass media for fostering so much “sympathy for anti-Christian lifestyles choices” that “when people hear the Christian message it often inevitably seems ideological and emotionally cruel”.

“Ca

What Pope Francis said about controversial issues from gay rights to immigration

Pope Francis, one of the more progressive pontiff's in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday morning at the age of 88, the Vatican confirmed.

Francis’ willingness to take a more progressive stance on issues from LGBTQ rights to same-sex marriage to immigration make him one of the most progressive and influential popes of the modern era.

Here are memorable moments from Francis' second where he voiced his opinions on those topics.

Francis' stance on members of the LGBTQ community

In December , Francis formally signed off on allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, he said in a declaration released by the Vatican's office.

The declaration stated, "When people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it. For those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection."

"A blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God. The request for

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

The Vatican has approved a landmark ruling 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

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Pope opens Vatican meeting amid tensions with conservatives

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

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

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

Pope Francis has endorsed same-sex couples; or he hasn’t; or he allows them to be blessed but only as separate individuals. The news out of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith (DDF) following the publication of Fiducia Supplicans (a declaration “on the pastoral meaning of blessings”) has been various and confusing.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the DDF’s beleaguered Prefect, last week had to issue a apply pressure release “clarifying” the declaration’s reception and interpretation.

Fernández, like Pope Francis, claims to be clear about two things:

The blessings discussed in Fiducia Supplicans are not a substitute for marriage — nor should they be confused as offering anything sacramental or equivalent to marriage.
The Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality remains unchanged — that is to say, the Church regards homosexual feelings as regrettable but not sinful. Consummating an act of same-sex adore is, however, wrong because all non-potentially procreative sex and all sex outside of marriage is contrary to God’s will for humanity.

This latter position is consistent wi