Pope Francis has termed homosexuality laws “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and urging Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ persons into the church.
“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said during an interview on Tuesday with The Associated Press.
Francis admitted that Catholic bishops in some areas of the globe support legislation that criminalise homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and he himself referred to the subject in terms of “sin”.
However, he linked such attitudes to cultural backgrounds and stated that bishops, in particular, must undergo a process of conversion in order to recognize the dignity of all people.
“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” he said, adding that they should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us”.
Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalise consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust, which works to end such laws. Experts say that even where the laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, stigmatisation and violence against LGBTQ people.
Despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling declaring anti-sodomy statutes illegal, more than a dozen states still have them on the books.
Gay rights activists say the antiquated laws are being used to harass homosexuals, and they point to new legislation, such as Florida’s “Don’t say gay” law, which prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as evidence of ongoing efforts to marginalize LGBTQ people.
The United Nations has repeatedly called for an end to laws that criminalize homosexuality outright, claiming that they violate the rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination and are a violation of countries’ international legal obligations to protect the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Declaring such laws “unjust,” Francis stated that the Catholic Church can and should fight to abolish them. “It has to do this. “It has to do this,” he stated.
According to the Catholic Church’s Catechism, LGBT individuals must be welcomed and valued, and should not be marginalized or discriminated against.
“We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity,” Francis said, speaking to the AP in the Vatican hotel where he lives.
Such laws are common in Africa and the Middle East and date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law.
Some Catholic bishops have strongly upheld them as consistent with Vatican teaching that considers homosexual activity “intrinsically disordered”, while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.
During a meeting with human rights groups that performed study into the effects of such laws and so-called “conversion therapies” in 2019, Francis was expected to deliver a statement denouncing homosexual criminalization.
In the end, the pope did not meet with the organizations, which instead met with the Vatican’s No 2, who underlined “the dignity of every human being and against every form of violence”.
On Tuesday, Pope Francis stated that there must be a distinction between a criminal and a sin when it comes to homosexuality.
“Being homosexual is not a crime,” he said. “It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”
“It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another,” he added.
Catholic teaching holds that while homosexuals must be treated with respect, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”. Francis has not changed that teaching, but he has made reaching out to the LGBTQ community a hallmark of his papacy.
Starting with his famous 2013 declaration: “Who am I to judge?” When he was asked about a purportedly gay priest, Francis has gone on to minister repeatedly and publicly to the gay and trans community.
As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he favoured granting legal protections to same-sex couples as an alternative to endorsing gay marriage, which Catholic doctrine forbids.
Despite such outreach, Francis was criticised by the Catholic LGBTQ community for a 2021 decree from the Vatican’s doctrine office that the church cannot bless same-sex unions “because God cannot bless sin”.
The Vatican in 2008 declined to sign onto a UN declaration that called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, complaining the text went beyond the original scope and also included language about “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” it found problematic.
In a statement at the time, the Vatican urged countries to avoid “unjust discrimination” against gay people and end penalties against them.
