Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as 'unjust,' saying God loves all his children just as they are. He called on Catholic bishops who support such laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church.
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.Catholic bishops must change to recognize dignity of everyone, Pope says in interviewPope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican on Tuesday.
Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, 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.
In the U.S., more than a dozen states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books, despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional. Such laws are common in Africa and the Middle East and date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law. Some Catholic bishops have strongly upheld them as consistent with Vatican teaching that considers homosexual activity "intrinsically disordered," while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.
"We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity," Francis said, speaking to the AP in the Vatican hotel where he lives.In 2019, Francis had been expected to issue a statement opposing criminalization of homosexuality during a meeting with human rights groups that conducted research into the effects of such laws and so-called "conversion therapies.
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