Latest news with #LGBTQ+Catholic
Irish Examiner
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Unearthed comments from new Pope Leo XIV alarm LGBTQ+ Catholics
After years of sympathetic and inclusive comments from Pope Francis, LGBTQ+ Catholics expressed concern on Thursday about hostile remarks made more than a decade ago by Father Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV, in which he condemned what he called the 'homosexual lifestyle' and 'the redefinition of marriage' as 'at odds with the Gospel'. In a 2012 address to the world synod of bishops, the man who now leads the church said that 'Western mass media is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general public enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel – for example abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia'. In the remarks, of which he also read portions for a video produced by the Catholic News Service, a news agency owned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the cleric blamed mass media for fostering so much 'sympathy for anti-Christian lifestyles choices' that 'when people hear the Christian message it often inevitably seems ideological and emotionally cruel'. 'Catholic pastors who preach against the legalization of abortion or the redefinition of marriage are portrayed as being ideologically driven, severe and uncaring,' Prevost added. He went on to complain that 'alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children are so benignly and sympathetically portrayed in television programs and cinema today'. The video illustrated his criticism of the 'homosexual lifestyle' and 'same-sex partners and their adopted children' with clips from two US sitcoms featuring same-sex couples, The New Normal and Modern Family. The cleric also called for a 'new evangelization to counter these mass media-produced distortions of religious and ethical reality'. After some of the comments were reported by the New York Times, American LGBTQ+ Catholic groups expressed alarm but also cautious optimism that the papacy of Francis had moved the whole church forward. '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, and we will take a wait-and-see attitude to see if that has happened,' said Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ+ Catholic group, in a statement. 'We pray that as our church transitions from 12 years of an historic papacy, Pope Leo XIV will continue the welcome and outreach to LGBTQ+ people which Pope Francis inaugurated.' DignityUSA, a group that represents LGBTQ+ Catholics, also expressed 'concern' with the pope's previous comments but wrote in an online post: 'We note that this statement was made during the papacy of Benedict XVI, when doctrinal adherence appeared to be expected. In addition, the voices of LGBTQ+ people were rarely heard at that level of church leadership. We pray that Pope Leo XIV will demonstrate a willingness to listen and grow as he begins his new role as the leader of the global church.' Perhaps the best-known of the sympathetic statements made about LGBTQ+ Catholics by Pope Francis was a comment he made to reporters in 2013, when he was asked about his observation that there was a 'gay lobby' inside the Vatican hierarchy. 'I have yet to find someone who introduces himself at the Vatican with an identity card marked 'gay',' the pope joked. 'But we must distinguish the fact that a person is gay from the fact of lobbying, because no lobbies are good.' 'If a person is gay,' he added, 'and he searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?' DeBernardo, the New Ways Ministry director, referenced those remarks on Thursday. 'The healing that began with 'Who am I to judge?' needs to continue and grow to 'Who am I, if not a friend to LGBTQ+ people?'' DeBernardo said. 'Pope Francis opened the door to a new approach to LGBTQ+ people; Pope Leo must now guide the church through that door,' he added. 'Many Catholics, including bishops and other leaders, remain ignorant about the reality of LGBTQ+ lives, including the marginalization, discrimination, and violence that many still face, even in Catholic institutions. We hope that he will further educate himself by meeting with and listening to LGBTQ+ Catholics and their supporters.' Marianne Duddy-Burke, the executive director of DignityUSA, told the Washington Blade in a text message from St Peter's Square shortly after Leo XIV's election that the new pope 'hasn't said a lot since early 2010s' on the subject, adding 'hope he has evolved'. Father James Martin, an American Jesuit and the founder of Outreach, an LGBTQ+ Catholic resource, sounded a note of optimism in a video message from Rome, calling the new pope a 'down-to-earth, kind, modest' man and 'a great choice'. In 2023, Martin was able to bless a same-sex couple for the first time, after Pope Francis said he would allow such blessings. In 2020, Pope Francis said that he supported civil-union laws for same-sex couples. 'Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They're children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it,' he said. 'Pope Francis did more for LGBTQ people than all his predecessors combined,' Martin wrote last month. 'He wrote letters of welcome to Outreach conferences for LGBTQ Catholics. He approved the publication of 'Fiducia Supplicans, a Vatican document that permitted priests to bless same-sex marriages under certain circumstances – and weathered intense blowback from some parts of the church. And, perhaps most surprisingly and least well known, he met regularly with transgender Catholics and spoke to them with warmth and welcome.' - The Guardian
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New pope voted in Republican primaries, Illinois records show
The new pope, Leo XIV, voted in Republican primaries in Illinois, voting records viewed by CNN show. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. The former Robert Francis Prevost has lived and worked all over the world but is registered to vote in New Lenox, a suburb southwest of Chicago, CNN reports. He was born in Chicago and was vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of Mother of Good Counsel in another suburb, Olympia Fields, briefly in the late 1980s. He has a brother who lives in New Lenox. Related: Records that the Will County Clerk's Office in Illinois provided to CNN show he voted in the Republican primaries of 2012, 2014, and 2016. Illinois voters do not have to register as a member of a particular party, but they can choose a party primary in which to vote. 2012 and 2016 were presidential election years, with Mitt Romney becoming the Republican nominee in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016. Prevost voted in the general elections of 2024, 2018, 2014 and 2012. Who he voted for in either primaries or general elections is secret, as it is for all American citizens. He has a mixed record on LGBTQ+ issues. In 2012, at a meeting of bishops, he criticized 'homosexual lifestyle' and 'alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children' as being 'at odds with the gospel.' He has also objected to the teaching of what he called 'gender ideology' in schools. But at other times, he has expressed sympathy for the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ Catholic groups said they hoped his views had evolved or will evolve. 'We pray that Pope Leo XIV will demonstrate a willingness to listen and grow as he begins his new role as the leader of the global Church,' said a statement from DignityUSA. 'We hope that he will further educate himself by meeting with and listening to LGBTQ+ Catholics and their supporters,' added Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry. 'Catholics need to be freed from the deadening homophobia and transphobia which strangles their personal and spiritual growth.' Michael O'Loughlin, executive director of Outreach, gave The Advocate this statement: 'From his choice of name honoring a pope committed to justice, to his call for a church focused on peace and dialogue, early signs show that Pope Leo XIV hopes to continue the pastoral outreach of Pope Francis. While we do not yet know how the new pope will interact with LGBT Catholics, the same was true in 2013 on the night Pope Francis was elected, and his pontificate wound up being inspiring to so many in our community.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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.
USA Today
27-04-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
With Francis, LGBTQ+ Catholics finally felt seen. Will new pope turn away from us?
With Francis, LGBTQ+ Catholics finally felt seen. Will new pope turn away from us? | Opinion Pope Francis' reforms led to increased visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people within and beyond Catholicism. As we mourn his passing, there is anxiety about whether this progress will be reversed. Show Caption Hide Caption What to expect at the funeral of Pope Francis Pope Francis will be the first pope in more than a century to be buried outside of the Vatican. After the death of Pope Francis on April 21, DignityUSA held a community gathering that night where LGBTQ+ Catholics, our family members, friends and allies could share their grief, hopes and fears. There were moving stories about how moments from Francis' ministry touched individual hearts, and how even glimpses of him during his visit to the United States moved people to tears. Some shared quotes from his writings. Andrés Merino-Restrepo, a bisexual man from Colombia now living in Canada said, 'It always felt as if we had a room in the pope's heart.' Others spoke of their fear that the next pope might undo the progress made toward greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ Catholics in our church. The outpouring of emotion in this quickly organized event testifies to the unprecedented connection between the LGBTQ+ Catholic community and Francis. During his 12 years as leader of the world's largest Christian denomination, Francis spoke about, met with, embraced and issued policies that supported LGBTQ+ people in ways that were unimaginable before his papacy. Pope Francis treated LGBTQ+ people with humanity. Will the next pope do the same? He used the words 'gay' and 'transgender,' rather than the more clinical or dehumanizing terms common to his predecessors. He met with LGBTQ+ people on many occasions, sending pictures from these meetings across the world. He famously placed transgender people under the Vatican's care during the COVID-19 pandemic. He allowed priests to bless same-sex couples and opened baptism and the role of godparent to transgender people. The impact of these and other departures from tradition cannot be underestimated. Further, when Francis called for a worldwide synod of the Catholic Church, he acknowledged that the church had wounded and excluded many – impoverished people, people with disabilities, addicts and LGBTQ+ people among them. Unlike past synods, which involved only bishops, he called for the voices of those the church had failed to be included in listening sessions held in every diocese worldwide. Many LGBTQ+ people, family members and others spoke about the gifts that LGBTQ+ people brought to the church and the many types of discrimination they had experienced within it. And while the LGBTQ+ community was not named explicitly in the synod's final report, these testimonies were included in documents that are now part of the permanent record of our church. Opinion: Who will be the new pope? After Pope Francis' progress, expect a course correction. Due to Francis' willingness to allow open discussion of controversial issues, LGBTQ-positive Catholic theologians felt freer to speak and to publish. He supported priests, bishops and colleges that initiated LGBTQ+ ministries and had close friendships with LGBTQ+ people. All of this led to increased visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people within and beyond Catholic institutions. Even as we and our allies continue to mourn Francis' passing, there is anxiety about whether this affirming trajectory will be halted or even reversed. The concern is understandable. Will the Catholic Church turn its back on LGBTQ+ community? In many parts of the world, as well as in some U.S. communities, church officials and political leaders remain vocal proponents of the belief that living as gay or transgender is incompatible with God's plan for humanity. They lead or support efforts to restrict human rights of LGBTQ+ people, enforce celibacy for gays and lesbians, deny gender-affirming care to transgender and nonbinary individuals, allow the practice of conversion therapy and even criminalize people based on their identity or relationships. Will the next pope support these harmful positions? Will he roll back the hard-won, if still incomplete, acceptance many LGBTQ+ Catholics have come to expect from our church? I think not. The simplest hope I can offer anxious people is numeric. Opinion: I'm a Catholic who craved spiritual connection. I found it in Pope Francis. Francis appointed more than 80% of the cardinals who will elect his successor. While it is true that his appointments were driven less by ideology than by ensuring more geographic diversity in church leadership, he also tended to select men who were known as good pastors. These are people who should prioritize caring for human needs over adherence to less inclusive church practices as they consider the direction a new pope may lead the church. More important, perhaps, Francis inspired a greater sense of ownership of the church among regular believers. Through the global synod called to shape our church's future, millions of people shared their experiences of Catholicism, their struggles to remain in the church and their hopes for change. Thousands of pages document these testimonies in reports from all around the world. I hope that the cardinal electors reflect on and pray over what Catholics want our church to be. If this happens, I am confident that our new pope will also be a shepherd and a clear moral voice in a troubled world. No matter who is chosen to guide the Catholic Church in the years ahead, LGBTQ+ Catholics and those who love us have been empowered. We will continue to work toward full inclusion in our church and our world ‒ and for recognition that we are no more and no less than who we were created to be by a loving God. Marianne Duddy-Burke is executive director of DignityUSA and co-chair of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics. She has served in leadership positions in the Catholic LGBTQ+ movement since 1985.
