When Pope Francis became head of the Catholic Church in 2013, he quickly indicated his willingness to accept gay believers, saying, “Who am I to judge? » This sentiment continued largely throughout his papacy. Late last year, the Vatican issued guidelines stating that transgender people can be baptized and serve as godparents, and later allowed Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples.
However, the Church remains opposed to same-sex marriage and still teaches that homosexuality is “inherently immoral and contrary to natural law.” Even within the Church, opposition to the pope’s relatively more open stance on these issues remains.
The pope also made headlines this week after using a homophobic slur to refer to gay men during a closed-door meeting with bishops. The Vatican issued a rare apology after the incident made headlines.
Casey Parks Kelsey Ables, Robyn Dixon, Natalia Abbakumova, Anthony Faiola and Stefano Pitrelli contributed to this report.
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