Gay Catholics - thoughts on Pope Francis?
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WOndering what gay Catholics think of Pope Francis and his reign so far. Has the Church became a more hospitable place for LGBT catholics or is it the same? On one hand he has a reputation for being more liberal than his predecessors. On the other hand, the Church as a whole still has some deeply prejudiced dogma. I'm not Catholic, so I was wondering if gay Catholics have noticed a change?
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I honestly feel like he's not doing enough. And he seems too confusing, I specifically mean that he's not that consistent with his statements and the way he carries himself
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I'm not a Catholic myself, but I taught at Catholic universities for several years. I think Francis is more LGBT-accepting than his predecessors, and on a visit to the US, he had a well-publicised private meeting with a former student and his husband. At the same time, it's very hard to change the direction of a large institution with hundreds of years of tradition behind it–assuming he wanted to.
That said, the Catholic church is not as monolithic as some think: At the local church level, some parishes are very diverse and inclusive; others are quite the opposite.
There's also a lot of variation by country/region: I worked in Sydney, Australia for a while, and while the Anglican church there seemed quite homophobic, the Catholic church (at least the cathedral and its music programme) seemed very inclusive and welcoming. That's a contrast to the US, the "Episcopal Church" (part of the Anglican Communion) is very LGBT-inclusive.