Today the Pope stated that he does not judge gays—a statement that will send shockwaves through the church. His comments were short, subtle, but unmistakably direct. “If they accept the Lord and have good will, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized,” he told reporters on his return flight from Rio de Janeiro to Rome. “The tendency [to homosexuality] is not the problem … they’re our brothers.” The Pope also criticized journalists for reporting on allegations of homosexuality within the Vatican, saying those matters concerned questions of sin, not crimes, like the sexual abuse of children. He said when someone sins and confesses, God both forgives and forgets. “We don’t have the right to not forget,” he said. The Pope is the voice of God for hundreds of millions of people around the world. His attitude is a marked departure from his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, who signed a document in 2005 stating that gay men could not become priests. Now bishops all over the world are going to wonder what the Pope’s statement means for them in their own churches. The most crucial response to the Pope’s comments may come from countries whose governments and cultures are far less open to gays and lesbians than the United States and Europe. Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, gay activity can be a crime, and violence against gays and lesbians is common. But the country is also nearly 50% Catholic, and if the Catholic Church adopted an attitude like Pope Francis is modeling, the climate toward the gay community could dramatically change. The response in the United States will also be significant. When the Pope speaks and takes a position on an issue, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops is not going to directly contradict him. Now visible Cardinals across the country will have to consider what steps they will take to not judge or marginalize their gay brothers and sisters. For example, a gay Catholic couple in Oceanside, NY, has been petitioning Cardinal Dolan![]()
