September 23, 2013 | Sex & Society

Pope continues to soften stance on gays

Pope Francis thinks the Catholic Church spends too much time focusing on gays. He made the statement during an interview with the editor in chief of Italian Jesuit journal, La Civiltà Cattolica,

"During [a recent] return flight from Rio de Janeiro I said that if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge. By saying this, I said what the catechism says," the pope explained. "Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person."

He continued: "A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: 'Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?' We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation."

Granted, he still thinks gay acts are a sin, but this is certainly a less aggressive position on homosexuality than any previous pope has taken. Pope Benedict XVI, after all, declared homosexuality an "objective disorder" with "a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil."

Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin said he hoped others in the church would follow the pope's lead. "Now, it's time for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to catch up and drop their opposition to even the most basic protections for LGBT people," he said. "Otherwise, they risk being left far behind by American Catholics and this remarkable Pope.

“At a moment when Pope Francis is re-dedicating the Church to tirelessly helping the poor, it's unacceptable for American bishops to continue wasting millions of parishioner dollars on harmful anti-LGBT political campaigns that target members of their own flock."

The Catholic Church still has a long, long, long way to go, but it's a start ...

Pope says Church must end obsession with gays, contraception, abortion [Reuters]

Pope Warns Church Focusing Too Much on Gays, Abortion [The Wall Street Journal]