The New Pope Faces Scrutiny On LGBTQ+ Rights
On at least one major issue, it's not yet clear just how closely the new pope will adhere to the legacy established by his predecessor.
As Pink News reported, Pope Leo XIV hasn't made many public statements on LGBTQ+ rights, but the ones he has expressed have been described by The New York Times as 'less welcoming' than stances Pope Francis once embraced.
Per the Times, Leo gave remarks in 2012 that criticized Western news media and pop culture for promoting 'sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel.' Examples of such beliefs that Leo reportedly referenced included a 'homosexual lifestyle' and 'alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.'
As a bishop in Peru, Leo also deemed 'the promotion of gender ideology' in schools 'confusing,' noting that 'it seeks to create genders that don't exist.'
And in 2024,Leo adopted a more ambivalent stance regarding blessings for same-sex unions. While Francis backed the practice, Leo declined to oppose or endorse a document that supported them, according to The 19th.
During his tenure as head of the Catholic Church, Francis was known for ushering in a more inclusive period of leadership that embraced LGBTQ+ parishioners and clergy members in a new way.
'If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?' Francis said of gay clergy members in 2013. He also pushed back against laws around the world that have criminalized homosexuality and met with LGBTQ+ Catholic groups, becoming one of the first popes to do so.
Francis' leadership was widely heralded as a sea change compared to past papacies that promoted anti-gay views, though he did not fundamentally change doctrine on issues like same-sex marriage.
For now, LGBTQ+ Catholics are watching closely to see whether Leo — who emphasized inclusion broadly in his opening remarks — will maintain the same trajectory.
'We pray that in the 13 years that have passed, 12 of which were under the papacy of Pope Francis, that his heart and mind have developed more progressively on LGBTQ+ issues,' said Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry, an LGBTQ+ Catholic group, in a statement.
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Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
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Democrats look for reinvention and a new playbook against Trump in key committee race
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Democrats look for reinvention and a new playbook against Trump in key committee race
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are quietly engaged in a behind-the-scenes race for a key committee position, the second time in as many months that the party has had to fill one of the most prized positions in Congress. Four Democrats are running to be the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, an investigative panel with public clout, subpoena power and an expansive portfolio. The position is open due to the death last month of Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia. While Democrats in the minority have little power to shape the committee's work, the ranking member position comes with an enormous platform — and the possibility of becoming chair if the party wins back the majority in next year's midterm elections. Whoever wins will immediately be squaring off against Republicans as they prepare for splashy hearings this summer on immigration enforcement, LGBTQ rights and former President Joe Biden's age and mental condition while in office. 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Boston Globe
2 hours ago
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Whoever wins will immediately be squaring off against Republicans as they prepare for splashy hearings this summer on immigration enforcement, LGBTQ rights and former President Joe Biden's age and mental condition while in office. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up As they hear from the candidates, Democrats are weighing many of the factors that were in play late last year, when Connolly, a veteran member of the committee, fended off a challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Advertisement A look at how the race is shaping up: The age factor The debate over Biden's age coincides with a reckoning over seniority and generational change happening across the Democratic Party. Four House Democrats are running for the position: Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, the acting ranking member; Jasmine Crockett of Texas, a viral sensation; Robert Garcia, a former Los Angeles County mayor who has pitched colleagues on a government reform agenda; and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, former president of the NAACP and civil rights advocate. Advertisement While Lynch is the most senior of the four, Democrats broadly said they are more open to breaking from seniority than they were in December, when Connolly, then 74, beat out Ocasio-Cortez, 35, for the job. Democrats are interested in how the candidates would communicate with the public, how they would help support lawmakers in battleground districts — and of course, how they would challenge President Donald Trump and his administration. How the four Democrats are making their case Crockett, 44, has pitched herself as the candidate best able to compete with Trump's pugnacious and attention-grabbing style. Democrats, Crockett has argued, often fail to connect with voters and explain why the president's actions may be harmful. She believes she can. 'It's a matter of bringing that in, having a hearing and making sure that we are translating it and amplifying it,' Crockett told MSNBC in an interview. 'Communications has to be a full-on strategy.' Garcia, 47, has focused on government reform and effectiveness, a key issue for Democrats after the Trump administration's blitz across federal agencies and mass firings of federal workers by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Mfume, 76, has attracted support from members impressed by his longtime stewardship of the nation's oldest civil rights group. He returned to Congress after decades leading the NAACP following the death of a previous Democratic Oversight chair, the late Congressman Elijah Cummings, a fellow Baltimore Democrat. Lynch, 70, has styled himself as the acting chair and the lawmaker best positioned to take on the committee's chairman, Republican James Comer of Kentucky. 'There are some members who speak to a very narrow audience, and that's great,' Lynch said. Advertisement 'We want them to be energized and animated. But that same person is not going to go to the Rust Belt with people that are farmers, moderates, conservatives,' Lynch told The Associated Press. 'You need different voices to appeal to different constituencies.' 'I think I have a better chance of bringing back the blue-collar working people, and I have less of a chance of appealing to very younger people who are intensely invested in social media,' Lynch said. What's ahead as Democrats make their choice The vote for Oversight ranking member is scheduled for June 24 and will be conducted by secret ballot. All four candidates are speaking before multiple caucuses this week, including the New Democrats and the progressive caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. While many Democrats are undecided, others have made up their mind. Some who are privately stumping for their candidate believe it will be a tight race. That makes the public forums and private pitches even more crucial in the run-up to the vote. House progressives are divided over their preferred choice. Three members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — Crockett, Garcia and Mfume — are vying for the ranking member seat, which makes it unlikely the caucus will back a single candidate. 'We're looking for folks that could expose this kind of corruption and hold Trump and his billionaire donors accountable,' said Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, the Progressive Caucus chair. Rep. Brad Schneider, chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, said he's weighing two factors: which candidate could best help Democrats win the 2026 midterm elections and whether they can successfully lead investigations into the Trump administration and 'try to repair some of the damage that's been done.' Advertisement 'The committee can be a flash point, or it can be a very effective place for us to make our point, and we want to know who's going to do best in that role to make sure the committee works to help us secure 218 (members) next November,' Schneider said. The role of seniority and the Congressional Black Caucus Some Democratic caucuses have traditionally prized seniority as a clear and reliable way for lawmakers of color to rise through the ranks. There has never been a Hispanic Oversight chairman and only one Black chairman, Elijah Cummings. 'The CBC has always stood for seniority,' said Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia. 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