Pope Francis Opened the Door to the LGBTQ Community, But Only So Much
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from Liam Stack of The New York Times
4/21/2025Pope Francis made headlines early in his pontificate when he responded to a reporter’s question about gay priests with a phrase that became shorthand for his pastoral style: “Who am I to judge?”
On Monday after his death, Francis’ admirers remembered him for his openness to members of the LGBTQ community, for his support for those who provided them with ministry and spiritual guidance and for the ways that he changed the church’s tone — if not always its doctrine — on LGBTQ issues.
“What he did for the Community is more than all of his predecessors combined,” said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit writer.
“Just acknowledging them, recognizing them, accompanying them, advocating for them, listening to them. He was the first pope to ever use the word 'gay' publicly, and he met regularly with transgender Catholics, even toward the end of his life. No pope has ever done that,” Martin said.
Sexuality was one of many issues in which Catholic conservatives disagreed with Pope Francis, and it contributed to the emergence of an influential and well-organized conservative opposition to his papacy in the United States.
But in other countries, especially those where homosexuality is more widely stigmatized, some saw Francis’ accepting attitude as a breath of fresh air.
But Francis’ change in tone did not reflect a deeper reconsideration of church doctrine, and his record on those issues included perhaps as many traditional retrenchments as it did pastoral leaps forward.
He allowed priests to bless gay couples, but he also reaffirmed church teaching that marriage could only be between a man and a woman.
He used a slur for gay men when he complained about the number of gay seminarians to a group of 250 bishops in Rome, then apologized when the incident was reported in the news media.
He then repeated the church’s instruction that men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” should not enter the priesthood.
The speed of light from Earth to the Moon in real time (c = 3×10^8 m/s) -
@Spintendo Indeed. more on that incident here:
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I think the title of this thread is spot-on: Francis' pastoral style was about opening doors, and allowing fresh air and light to come in. His views on LGBTQ and women's issues were quite progressive, but he was not a Vatican bureaucrat who would write rules and declare teachings in accord with his views. At best, his viiew was "crawl before you walk before you run," which is wise strategy with a large institution.
I'd like to think that his unfortunate comments about seminarians were the product of a bad day. He seems to have had no animosity against LGBT people, shown perhaps most clearly by his visit to the US some years back, where he had a private dinner with a former (male) student of his and the student's husband. This was the only private dinner on that trip, and such dinners are rare on all papal trips.
He was a pastor, not a politician, and only time will tell how much long-term influence he will have on the church. I never met him, but I think he and I would have gotten along quite well.
For full disclosure, I am an active member within the Anglican Communion, whether it be the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church of England, or the Episcopal Church in the US, depending on where I'm working or teaching. That siad, I hold the Roman Catolic Church in high regard, and I share in mourning of Catholics around the world.
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@eobox91103 said in Pope Francis Opened the Door to the LGBTQ Community, But Only So Much:
he was not a Vatican bureaucrat who would write rules and declare teachings in accord with his views
Oh yes he was & did.Francis wrote A GREAT MANY documents & rules, & other things, many appointments & gestures, meant to settle his personal vendettas - he had a ton, was famously "rage-aholic" & foul mouthed - & to get his idiosyncratic views ingrained.
Perhaps your fallback could be something like, What Pope doesn't?
@eobox91103 said in Pope Francis Opened the Door to the LGBTQ Community, But Only So Much:
I'd like to think that his unfortunate comments about seminarians were the product of a bad day
He did it at least 2 distinct days & more plausibly, they may have been his attempt to satisfy certain critics, or what we would call, to look more butch / put on a beard.
@eobox91103 said in Pope Francis Opened the Door to the LGBTQ Community, But Only So Much:
He was a pastor, not a politician,
He was 1000% politician. Also some say, in his Argentina days, he tied badly into some of that country's human rights abuses.
Documentation emerged awhile back - I did not post it or make a thing of it, but perhaps I still could - that the CIA backed him, both in Argentina bad stuff, or/and his elevation to Papacy.
In covid, Francis was destructively pro-lockdown & pro-mandate - he was fine with churches closed (but bars & porn shops left open), Catholics denied important rites, people forced to die isolated from family visitors, people locked in homes & driven to suicide.
In short, Francis played along & did not care for human rights - whenever it mattered. That bothers me.
Some note, he ignored issues to do with fetal cells & vaxx development. Readers here might think that is no big deal, but to some Catholics, it means you benefit from killing of children, a top sin. Covid vaxx turned out to "not work" anyway - so, Francis compromised Catholic principles there for nothing.
There is famous video, of Francis ragefully batting away a Chinese woman well-wisher in late 2019 or very early 2020, the time, we now know, when covid emerged in Wuhan. People in hindsight have speculated, if Francis wasn't simply racist, then, he must have "known something" and feared for his safety. Fearing for your safety is only human, of course. Popes (Vicars of Christ on Earth) are supposed to be at a higher standard.
In charity, I pray for Francis' salvation & the repose of his soul. I suspect he may need it.
And so, I can easily say Francis R.I.P., as I tend to do for most people no matter how bad.
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Video of Dec 31, 2019, where Francis is enraged at Chinese woman who makes contact.
https://x.com/i/status/1212069459155914753
To concede: She yanks him too hard. I'd be angry.
Then again: I'm not Bishop of Rome at Christmas, she's desperate, & his double-slapping her was petty (if not racist).
Longer video, which I could not find, is said to be worse - Francis shakes many hands but turns away from her specially. Demeaning.
Pettiness has been rumored with Francis, for years. Pope St. John Paul II, or even Pope Benedict XVI, if grabbed too hard, might have at least smiled & waited for his guards who were right there.
Here is JP2 forgiving & comforting his assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca.
Sorry, JP2 & Francis are not alike.
ps.
Just to illustrate things.To repeat what truly bothers me:
[CIA-backed, and ] In covid, Francis was destructively pro-lockdown & pro-mandate - he was fine with churches closed (but bars & porn shops left open), Catholics denied important rites, people forced to die isolated from family visitors, people locked in homes & driven to suicide
Could add: When Biden admin targeted USA Catholics who merely spoke at school board meetings - targeted them for monitoring, FBI raids, lawfare etc. Francis, that we know of, said nothing against it ever.
So I conclude, Francis pattern was:
[he] did not care for human rights - whenever it mattered
