Pope Francis & LGBTQ+ Issues: A Complex Legacy

The pontiff previously this month called Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, who DeBernardo notes has actually made “strong positive statements regarding LGBTQ+ issues,” as the brand-new archbishop of Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Brian Burch, the president and co-founder of CatholicVote, an anti-LGBTQ Catholic team, to become the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Mixed Views on Pope Francis’s LGBTQ+ Legacy

“We additionally identify that Pope Francis has actually elevated recognition of LGBTQ+ problems in our church in absolutely extraordinary methods,” stated Barber. “He spoke concerning us utilizing our very own terms and made a point of being seen conference with LGBTQ+ people regularly. Francis’s heritage is, for that reason, a mixed one– providing some progression but leaving ingrained inequalities greatly intact.”

Vatican’s Document on Homosexuality

“The church, while greatly valuing the individuals in question, can not confess to the seminary or to holy orders those that exercise homosexuality, existing deep-rooted homosexual tendencies or support the supposed ‘gay society,'” checks out a file the Vatican’s Churchgoers for the Clergy launched that Pope Francis authorized.

DeBernardo thinks that by approving the invite to fulfill the team and listening to the experiences of intersex and trans people, Francis was intentionally establishing a precedent for other church leaders to involve more meaningfully with the LGBTQ area.

Pope Francis and World Pride Controversy

“One of the important things I keep in mind most regarding that time was the rage expressed by the Vatican and the pope himself that Globe Satisfaction was occurring in Rome throughout the Jubilee year,” composed DeBernardo on New Ways Ministry’s internet site. “Perhaps especially galling to John Paul II was that the pride occasion was occurring in the initial week of July, which coincided week that pilgrims from the pope’s indigenous Poland were set up to flood the city. And undoubtedly, everywhere you looked you saw individuals with intense red neckerchiefs, a sign of Polish heritage.”

Dindi Tan, national president of LGBT Pilipinas in the Philippines, on her Facebook page created Francis “was courageous to test old-time dogmas and to ‘rattle’ the cage.” Pedro Julio Serrano, head of state of the Puerto Rico LGBTQ+ Federation, claimed Francis was an “ally of equity, humanity and self-respect of LGBTQ+ individuals, not only during his preach, however throughout his life.”

Jubilee speaker Agnese Palmucci validated to the National Catholic Register that La Tenda di Gionata’s proposed pilgrimage has actually been “included in the general schedule as a trip, in addition to all the various other trips that dioceses will make,” however noted it is “not a Jubilee event funded or arranged by us.”

Sibling Jeannine Gramick, among the co-founders of New Ways Ministry, a U.S.-based Catholic organization advocating for LGBTQ individuals, set up the meeting that took place at Casa Santa Marta, Francis’s house in Vatican City.

Meeting with Transgender and Intersex Catholics

Gramick, who had actually been referring the pope and had actually fulfilled him with members of the New Ways Ministry in 2015, was let down by the affirmation and recommended that he hear directly from trans and intersex Catholics about their experiences, to which he concurred.

“Vatican anti-gay unsupported claims had actually fueled anti-gay belief beyond the Catholic Church, and numerous right-wing Italian political teams were denouncing Globe Pride, which was to finish in a march from the Porta San Paolo to the Colosseum,” he composed. One message in certain continues to be solid in my memory: ‘Gay al Colosseo? (Translation: ‘Gays at the Colosseum?

The National Catholic Register keeps in mind the explorers have likewise been invited to a Mass at the Jesuit Church of the Gesù that Msgr. Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Episcopal Meeting, will commemorate.

“Component of the issue is that the Vatican records had actually not spoken with transgender, intersex individuals, or any of the medical professionals who collaborate with them. So we were motivating the pope to speak with people a lot more and to watch people’s stories,” DeBernardo claimed.

The individuals in the meeting had actually formerly shared their individual testaments with a team of 2 loads Catholic bishops in the united state previously this year as component of New Ways Ministry’s initiatives to educate church leaders regarding the experiences of LGBTQ individuals and to advocate for their full acceptance.

He met with two African LGBTQ activists– Clare Byarugaba of Phase 4 Uganda and Rightify Ghana Supervisor Ebenezer Peegah– at the Vatican on Aug. 14. Sister Jeannine Gramick, one of the co-founders of New Ways Ministry, organized a meeting between Francis and a team of transgender and intersex Catholics and LGBTQ allies that took place at the pontiff’s palace on Oct. 12.

The inspiration for bringing the pope in direct conversation with intersex and trans people was the Vatican’s release of the “Dignitas Infinata” affirmation in April. While the record stressed the demand for regard and dignity for all, it additionally condemned gender-affirming medical care, framing it as incompatible with human dignity.

“We also recognize that Pope Francis has actually elevated awareness of LGBTQ+ problems in our church in absolutely unprecedented means,” said Barber. “He mentioned us using our very own terms and challenged being seen conference with LGBTQ+ people regularly. This sent out a message of recognition and inclusion we never experienced from the Vatican before.”

“It is with profound sorrow that I discovered this sad morning that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, passed away today and is now relaxing in peace,” claimed Milei. “Regardless of distinctions that appear small today, having actually been able to understand him in his benefits and wisdom was a real honor for me.”

“This new clarification deals with gay candidates in the same way that heterosexual candidates are dealt with,” included DeBernardo. “That sort of equivalent therapy is what the church should be going for in relation to all LGBTQ+ issues.”

“While 2025’s occasion might appear like a small step, when compared to exactly how the Vatican responded to the existence of gay individuals in Rome during 2000, we can see what a total change has occurred in terms of replying to LGBTQ+ individuals,” he claimed.

Francis DeBernardo, executive supervisor of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, on Dec. 10 noted he traveled to Rome in 2000, the last Jubilee year, and spoke at the very first WorldPride that occurred that summer.

The group in a declaration acknowledged the pontiff’s “heritage on LGBTQ+ problems is made complex,” noting “despite the recognition of numerous positive words and activities, church trainings and even some recent Vatican files stay troublesome.” DignityUSA President Meli Barber however applauded Francis.

The delegation that consulted with the pope consisted of Nicole Santamaría, an intersex female, Michael Sennett, a trans male, and Cynthia Herrick, a medical professional who works in a gender medicine facility. Over the course of greater than an hour, they recounted to Francis their struggles with anxiety and suicide on their change trip and highlighted the positive influence of gender-affirming treatment.

“The Catholic Church continues to be a pressure for discrimination and suffering,” stated Tatchell. Francis’s tradition is, consequently, a blended one– using some development but leaving deep-rooted inequalities mostly intact.”

“From the early months of his papacy when he uttered the now-iconic ‘Who am I to evaluate?’ in action to an inquiry concerning approving gay priests, with countless affirming pastoral messages to specific LGBTQ+ individuals, to his assistance for civil unions, and his condemnation of criminalization regulations, Pope Francis has actually transformed the church irreversibly by permitting individuals to see just how their Catholic confidence needs approval and equality,” stated Francis DeBernardo, executive supervisor of New Ways Ministry, a Mount Rainier, Md., based LGBTQ Catholic campaigning for organization, in a statement.

Francis last October met a group of trans and intersex Catholics and LGBTQ allies at the Vatican. GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis and Juan Carlos Cruz, a gay Chilean man who is a clergy sex abuse survivor, are among those that also met Francis throughout his papacy.

Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Structure, in a statement acknowledged Francis’s “much more compassionate tone towards sexual minorities” that includes true blessings for same-sex couples. Tatchell, nonetheless, pointed out the Vatican under Francis’s papacy continued to oppose marriage equality and trans legal rights.

With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we compliment the spirit of Pope Francis to the unlimited merciful love of the one and triune God.”

New Ways Ministry Exec Supervisor Francis DeBernardo, that was present at the meeting, stated Francis didn’t react vocally a lot, but, holding his cross, looked “sincerely pained” as he listened to individuals define their challenges and “nodded intensely when they spoke about just how favorable medical shift was for them.”.

Challenges and Discrimination within the Catholic Church

The guidelines specifically state seminaries can not turn down candidates just because of their sexual preference, as long as they continue to be celibate. They will stay in place for what the Times described as a “3-year test period.”

Francis emphatically opposed Argentina’s marriage equality legislation that then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed in 2010. Francis as pope backed civil unions for gays and lesbians and in 2023 stated priests can bless same-sex pairs.

“This development is a huge action forward,” stated Francis DeBernardo, executive supervisor of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, in a press release.

“His entire life was dedicated to the solution of the Lord and of his church,” claimed Farrell. “He showed us to live the worths of the Scripture with fidelity, nerve, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized. With enormous thankfulness for his instance as a true devotee of the Lord Jesus, we applaud the heart of Pope Francis to the boundless merciful love of the one and triune God.”

“This advancement is a large step forward,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, in a press release. “It clears up previous uncertain declarations concerning gay seminary prospects, which saw them with suspicion. This uncertainty caused lots of concern and discrimination in the church, way past the arena of seminary admissions.”