Pope and the gays

Four months after Francis became pope inhe sparked controversy when, during a July in-flight press conference, he responded to a journalist's question about gay clergy members, saying, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?

They wash away the old ones. And perhaps sometimes those tears still spring from our eyes," Focosi said. He never changed church teaching, saying homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered.

Pope Francis wanted LGBTQ

InBenedict XVI published the first modern formal statement denouncing homosexuality. Soon after he was elected in May, remarks surfaced from in which the future pope, then known as the Rev. Robert Prevost, criticized the "homosexual lifestyle" and the role of mass media in promoting acceptance of same-sex relationships that conflicted with Catholic doctrine.

How does his stance on LGBTQ+ issues compare to his predecessor's?. Many of the pilgrims attributed their feeling of welcome to Francis.

Pope Francis approves blessings

Leo met on Monday with the Rev. Pope Leo XIV laid out his stance on gay marriage and abortion in his inaugural address to the Vatican diplomatic corps. He received a sustained standing ovation in the middle of his homily when he recalled that Jubilee celebrations historically were meant to restore hope to those on the margins.

But Francis, who insisted that the Catholic Church was open to everyone, "todos, todos, todos," changed all that, he said. When he became a cardinal inCatholic News Service asked Prevost if his views had changed. He acknowledged Francis' call for a more inclusive church, saying Francis "made it very clear that he doesn't want people to be excluded simply on the basis of choices that they make, whether it be lifestyle, work, way to dress, or whatever.

Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday. The vice president of the Italian bishops conference, Bishop Franceseco Savino, celebrated Mass for the pilgrims in a packed Chiesa del Gesu, the main Jesuit church in Rome. Capozzi spoke during a standing room-only vigil service for the pilgrims on Friday night at the Jesuit church.

More than any of his predecessors, Francis distinguished himself with a message of welcome. The service featured testimonies from gay couples, the mother of a trans child and a moving reflection by an Italian priest, the Rev. Fausto Focosi.

Franciswho died at 88 earlier this year, didn't change doctrine, but he altered the conversation by voicing support for legal civil unions, personally meeting with LGBTQ groups and extending blessings to individuals in same-sex unions. Vatican organizers stressed that the listing in the calendar didn't signal endorsement or sponsorship.

To now be invited to walk through the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica "fully recognized as who we are and the gifts we bring to the church, and that we have both our faith and our identities combined, is a day of great celebration and hope," she said.

Pope Francis has granted his formal approval allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples so long as they do not appear to endorse their marriage, marking the church's most permissive. His words set a very different tone from the previous relationship the Church had with gay clergy and members.

They have known the tears of shame. John Capozzi of Washington, D. Then, he said, he felt shunned by his fellow Catholics.