[ad_1]
Pope Francis called the law criminalizing homosexuality “unjust” – saying God loves his children as much as they do – and called on Catholic bishops who supported the law to welcome LGBTQ people into their churches.
“Homosexuality is not a crime,” Francis said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.
He acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community — and use the word “sin” to refer to the issue.
But he attributed the attitude to cultural context and said bishops in particular needed to go through a process of change to recognize the dignity of every human being.
“These bishops must have a process of conversion,” he said, adding that they should “show meekness, just as God does with each of us”.
Some 67 countries or jurisdictions around the world criminalize consensual same-sex sex, 11 of which carry or do carry the death penalty, according to the Trust for Human Dignity, which works to end such laws.
Even when laws are not enforced, they can fuel harassment, stigma and violence against LGBTQ people, experts say.
In the United States, more than a dozen states have enacted anti-sodomy laws, although the Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional in a 2003 ruling.
Gay rights advocates say outdated laws are being used to harass gay people, pointing to new legislation such as Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans sexual orientation and gender identity education from daycare to schools. years, as evidence of continued efforts to marginalize LGBTQ people.
The United Nations (UN) has repeatedly called for an end to laws that criminalize homosexuality, saying they violate the rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination, and violate States’ obligations under international law to protect the human rights of all people, regardless of their status. sexual orientation or gender identity.
Declaring the laws “unjust,” Francis said the Catholic Church can and should work to end them.
“It has to do it. It has to do it,” he said.
Francis cited the Catholic Catechism as saying gay people must be welcomed and respected, not marginalized or discriminated against.
“We are all children of God, and God loves us for who we are and for the strength in each of us to fight for our dignity,” Francis said at the Vatican hotel where he is staying.
Such laws are common in Africa and the Middle East, dating back to British colonial times or inspired by Islamic law.
Some Catholic bishops have strongly backed them to be in line with the Vatican’s teaching that homosexual activities are “inherently promiscuous”, while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.
In 2019, Francis is expected to speak out against the criminalization of homosexuality when he meets human rights groups that have conducted research on the impact of such laws and so-called “conversion therapy”.
In the end, instead of meeting these groups, the Pope met with the Vatican’s No. 2, who reiterated the “dignity of every human being and the rejection of all forms of violence”.
On Tuesday, Francis said a distinction needs to be made between crime and sin when it comes to homosexuality.
“Homosexuality is not a crime,” he said.
“It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a crime. All right, but first let’s distinguish between a crime and a crime.”
“Lack of kindness towards one another is also a sin,” he added.
Catholic teaching holds that while homosexuals must be respected, homosexual behavior is “essentially disorderly”.
Francis hasn’t changed that teaching, but he has made reaching out to the LGBTQ community a hallmark of his papacy.
Beginning with his famous 2013 manifesto, “Who Am I to Judge?” when asked about a priest who was allegedly gay, Francis has continued to repeatedly and publicly preach to the gay and trans communities.
As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he favored legal protections for same-sex couples as an alternative to supporting same-sex marriage, which is prohibited by Catholic teaching.
Despite this outreach, Francis has come under criticism from the Catholic LGBTQ community after the Vatican’s doctrinal office issued a decree in 2021 that the church cannot bless same-sex unions “because God cannot bless sin.”
The Vatican refused to sign a UN declaration calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality in 2008, complaining that the text went beyond its original scope and included language it considered problematic about “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”.
In a statement at the time, the Vatican urged countries to avoid “unjust discrimination” against gay people and to end punishment for them.
[ad_2]
Source link