Comment about homosexuality being a sin referred to Catholic rules, pope says

Pope Francis made a mea culpa by clarifying recent comments that reinforced the doctrinal position on homosexuality being considered a sin. The pontiff said he was referring to official Catholic moral teaching that any sexual act outside of marriage is considered sacrilege.

In a note released this Friday (27), Francis recalled that even this teaching is subject to circumstances that can eliminate sin. The demonstration comes after Francisco was criticized by groups that defend LGBTQIA+ rights due to his previous statements.

In an interview with the Associated Press published on Wednesday (25), the pope said that homosexuality “is not a crime, but a sin”. “Okay, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime. It’s also a sin not to show charity to your neighbor.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to homosexuality as “acts of grave depravity”, described as “intrinsically disordered”. The church defends, however, that homosexuals “be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity” and says that “every sign of unfair discrimination must be avoided”.

In 2013, his first year at the head of the Catholic Church, Francis declared himself unable to reject homosexuals who sought comfort from God. “Who am I to judge?” he said at the time. The speech filled LGBTQIA+ Catholics with the hope of being welcomed without reservations within the institution.

Eight years later, he gave the Vatican the go-ahead to release a guideline for clerics not to bless same-sex unions. “God cannot bless sin”, says the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which formulates norms for the faithful of the largest Christian strand in the world.

In the interview, Francis acknowledged that Catholic leaders in some parts of the world still support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQIA+ community. “These bishops need to have a conversion process,” the pontiff said, adding that such leaders must act with tenderness — “please, as God has for each one of us.”