Pope Francis Says He Does Not Judge Gay Priests

Pope Francis yesterday stated that he does not judge gays, a statement that will send shock-waves through the church. His comments were short, subtle, but unmistakably direct.

In the most conciliatory words yet from the Vatican on the subject of gay priests, he added: ‘If a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge him?’

The new Pope used a talk with journalists covering his visit to Brazil to emphasize Roman Catholic teaching that says  those who have gay orientation should  be accepted. He stressed that the official position of the Church is that homosexual acts are sinful, but homosexual urges and thoughts are not.

The message that gay people should be ‘integrated’ into society rather than marginalized marks a clear departure for the Papacy.

In recent years the pronouncements of Francis’s predecessor Pope Benedict have fiercely condemned gay rights and at one point the former Pope described gay relationships as ‘evil’.

Speaking on his flight back to Rome from Rio, the Pontiff saved his criticism for gay pressure groups and lobbies. ‘The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well,’ he said.

‘It says they should not be marginalised because of this orientation but that they must be integrated into society.
‘The problem is not having this orientation. We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem.’

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