Pope Francis says, 'Don’t judge gays'
POPE FRANCIS appeared to take a softer line on homosexuality yesterday – while reaffirming that the Roman Catholic church is still opposed to gay marriage and sees homosexual acts as “sinful”.
The pontiff said no one should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.
He said he “would not stand in judgment” of gays in the Vatican, so long as they remained celibate.
Of homosexuals who “seek the Lord with goodwill” he said: “Who who am I to judge?”
His remarks were being seen as less hardline than those of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI.
He was talking to reporters on a flight back to Rome from his first overseas job as pontiff, to Brazil.
He told them: “The Catechism tells us not to discriminate against these people. They are our brothers.”
But he also condemned homosexual acts and what he described as the “serious problem” of gay lobbying.