AS the Philippines debates a bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual identity, Pope Francis made a statement asserting that homosexuality is not a crime and that laws criminalizing homosexuality are “unjust.”
However, the Vatican leader said being gay is still a sin as per the Catholic doctrine.
“It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin,” Pope Francis said in an interview with the Associated Press.
The Pope said a distinction must be made between a sin and a crime, which are different from each other.
Being a homosexual is a sin, in the same way that the lack of charity towards other people is a sin, he said.
“But let’s make the distinction first between sin and crime,” he said. “But it’s also a sin to lack charity with one another, so what about that?”
No to unjust laws
The Pope also denounced “unjust” laws that criminalize same-sex activities, noting that people should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us” to members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I think that the countries that have legal convictions are more than 50 … and of those I think that 10, more or less, have [the] death penalty,” said Pope Francis. “ I think it’s unfair.”
He also called for the church to work to get rid of the unjust laws that targeted same-sex relationships.
He also said gay people must be respected, and supported this statement by reiterating one of the pillars of Catholic doctrine, saying that “we are all children of God” and that “God loves us as we are.”
Softening stance
Since ascending to papacy in 2013, Pope Francis has treated the LGBTQIA+ community with a softer approach compared to his predecessors.
Just months after taking over as the head of the Vatican church, he shared a remarkable comment regarding gay church clergies, saying they should be forgiven.
When asked his stance about homosexual priests, the pope answered, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
In 2020, he also expressed his support for civil union for homosexual couples despite heave criticisms from the Catholic congregation.
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