Pope Francis’ papacy was known for many things, but one that stood out to many was his openness to having laypeople and women wield influence inside the Catholic Church and for his welcoming stance toward the LGBTQ+ community.
LGBT
Gay Teacher’s Court Victory Against Catholic School Puts Church in Danger of Financial Penalties
A religious freedom attorney warns that if a recent federal judge’s decision against the Diocese of Charlotte holds, religious institutions could face “massive financial penalties” for simply forming communities around their shared beliefs and practices.
Pope Francis Holds Private Meeting With Parents of LGBT Children
Pope Francis told a group of parents of LGBT children Sept.16 that God loves them as they are, and that the Church loves them because they are “children of God.” The pontiff’s words came during a short, private encounter with some 40 Italian mothers and fathers of LGBT children that took place following his Sept.16 general audience.
USCCB President ‘Deeply Concerned’ About Court’s LGBT Ruling
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said he is “deeply concerned” that by ruling federal law protects LGBT workers from discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court “has effectively redefined the legal meaning of ‘sex’ in our nation’s civil rights law.”
Fr. James Martin Reflects on Meeting With Pope
Father James Martin, S.J., editor-at-large at the Jesuit-run, Manhattan-based America Magazine, met with Pope Francis on Sept. 30 in a private audience at the Vatican.
Fr. James Martin: Pope Was ‘Attentive, Welcoming and Warm’ During Meeting
On Monday, Pope Francis met with Jesuit Father James Martin, an American priest who has dedicated most of the past three years to ministering to LGBT Catholics, whom he describes as the “most marginalized group” in the Catholic Church.
Synod Doesn’t Waste Time Taking Up Abuse, LGBT Issues and Migration
One day after Pope Francis kicked off this month’s Vatican summit on young people by warning against a temptation to focus on “abstract ideologies” detached from the realities of young people, concrete topics ranging from sex abuse, LGBT issues, migration and technology took center stage.
LGBT Voices Say They Won’t Be Ignored
Since the summit of families in Dublin, originally designed to promote Pope Francis’s document on the family “Amoris Laetitia”, has been overtaken by the shadow of serious charges of sexual abuse and cover-up, it would appear that it’s not the time to shine for the LGBT constituency.
Sensitivity to ‘Discomfort’
Dear Editor: Your article on the disgraceful decision to remove almost 200 religious icons and statues from a Catholic school in California didn’t cover the bankrupt explanations the school’s administration gave for justifying its religious spinelessness and condescending dismissal of parental concern with the standby cliché that “they are afraid of change.”