Pope Francis leaves a complex legacy for lGBTQ+ Catholics

Reverend Irene Monroe reflections, published on LGBTQ Nation (United States) on April 23, 2025. Freely translated by the volunteers of the Gionata project.

On Easter Monday, the world learned the news of the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88. The news caught everyone by surprise, given that the pontiff had just appeared at Easter Mass, despite the harsh fight against a pneumonia.

Francesco was one of the most loved popes of the Catholic Church, nicknamed the "Pope of the people".

Yet, as regards the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the Church, Francesco leaves a contradictory legacy, made of disappointed hopes and still suspended expected.

«Many of us nourished great hopes that positive changes would emerge from the world synod about LGBTQ+teachings. So far it has not been the case. We are still waiting for the report of the working group in charge of addressing the controversial issues, "said Meli Barber, president of the dignity.

«But now the discussion on LGBTQ+ issues is part of the ordinary debate of our Church. Catholics LGBTQ+, our families, friends, other believers and many pastoral workers have openly spoke of our lives, our gifts, the discrimination suffered and the depth of our faith. This cannot be canceled ».

He came to mind his answer in 2013, when a journalist asked him what he thought of a possible "gay lobby" in the Vatican. His replica went around the world: «When I meet a homosexual person, I have to distinguish between being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have good will, who am I to judge them? "

That declaration was, at the time, the most inclusive ever pronounced by a pope towards LGBTQ+people. The magazine The Advocate appointed him "Person of the year" in 2013.

Pope Francis attracted global attention with his statements with a progressive tone, but for many people LGBTQ+ was an ambivalent figure, if not even contradictory.

He also showed a pastoral face towards our community, but during his pontificate I ended up seeing him as a great balancer, whose good intentions rarely translated into concrete actions. And in some cases, he showed real contradictions.

An example: Francesco approved the blessings for the same sex couples, provided that they do not resemble a wedding.

In October 2020, interviewed in the documentary Francesco dedicated to his life, the Pope expressed a strong support for civil unions between people of the same sex, once again generating a worldwide eco.

«Homosexual people have the right to be part of a family. They are children of God, "he declared in the film. «You can't remove someone from your family or make them impossible life for this. What is needed is a law on civil unions, so that they are legally protected ».

For many LGBTQ Catholics+ these words were like lighting. They seemed to open the way to an epochal change, capable of shaking the foundations of the doctrine, despite the opposition of conservative priests still anchored to the anti -modern setting of Pope Benedict XVI.

However, the marriage between people of the same sex has always been Excluded. in fact, francesco has repeatedly defined As "gender theory" as an "ideological project" which "denies the natural difference between man and woman".

On the wedding he declared in 2017, in an interview with New Ways Ministry (Pro-Lgbtq+Catholic Organization): «Marriage is a historical word. He has always been between a man and a woman, not only in the Church, but in all humanity. We cannot change this. It is in the nature of things. Let's call them 'civil unions' ».

Francesco also pronounced himself in favor of the decriminalization of homosexuality, gesture welcomed by the supporters of the LGBTQ+rights, who saw him as an important step to combat violence and discrimination. He also publicly clarified that homosexual acts, although considered sin, are not a crime.

Pope Francis' relationship with transgender people was perhaps the most contradictory. In 2015, in the book Pope Francis. This economy kills, he came to compare transgender people to nuclear weapons, considered a threat to the creation of God as male and female.

But then, years later, he welcomed and lunch several times with a community of trans women - many of which are workers of sex - in Torvaianica, in Italy, on the occasion of the world day of the poor in 2023. It was not the first time: these women had already received special invitations for monthly meetings with the Pope since the pandemic period.

Also in 2023, the Vatican recognized the possibility for transgender people to receive baptism and to be the godfather or godmother. A radical turning point compared to 2000, when the congregation for the doctrine of faith even denied the existence of trans people.

Of course, nothing has changed in the official doctrine of the Church. But the World Day of the Poor, with its message "Do not look away from anyone who is poor", showed the Church in its most welcoming form. It allowed the faces of trans people not to remain hidden.

Despite this, the Church continues to officially exclude LGBTQ+ people from the sacraments. Since 2015, dignityusausa promotes the principle of "sacramental equality" in the Catholic Church. Faced with the drama of Covid-19, which hit the LGBTQ community+ as much as other minorities in the world, we could have expected a more inclusive gesture. But so it was not.

Pope Francis was undoubtedly a humble and sincere heart man. But he often turned his gaze on the other side, when it came to the faithful LGBTQ+.

That Pope Francis can rest in peace.

Original text: "Pope Francis Leaves Behind a Complicated Legacy for LGBTQ+ Catholics "