BY: DM
Published 1 hour ago
Pope Leo XIV is once again sharing his thoughts on the LGBTQIA+ community, and his comments are raising eyebrows. In a Sept. 18 Crux interview, he stressed that “todos, todos, todos” — all people — belong in the Church. The first American pontiff echoed Francis’s famous refrain, saying, “Everyone’s invited in… I invite a person in because they are a son or daughter of God.” However, Leo also made it clear that the Church’s longstanding views on same-sex marriage remain intact.
Pope Leo XIV refuses to bless same-sex marriages.
In a wide-ranging Crux interview tied to Elise Ann Allen’s new biography, Pope Leo spoke warmly about LGBTQIA+ Catholics. He said he plans to maintain Francis’s inclusive tone, stressing that no one is beyond God’s love. “You’re all welcome, and let’s get to know one another and respect one another,” he said, echoing Francis’s emphasis on open doors. Leo also acknowledged that priests hear confessions from people of all lifestyles. Still, he made clear he will not change the catechism overnight.
“I find it highly unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the church’s doctrine in terms of what the church teaches about sexuality, what the Church teaches about marriage, [will change],” Leo said. He noted that some church groups in Northern Europe are organizing same-sex blessings, but he refuses to allow them. These ceremonies, he said, “go specifically against” the Vatican’s guidelines on blessings. He pointed out that Pope Francis’s Dec. 2023 document Fiducia Supplicans already addressed this. The text allows priests to bless individuals but warns against creating ceremonies that resemble same-sex weddings.
“That doesn’t mean those people are bad people, but I think it’s very important to understand how to accept others who are different than we are, how to accept people who make choices in their life and to respect them,” Leo said.
Pope Leo has a history of making cautious comments about the LGBTQIA+ community.
Pope Leo’s comments build on both Francis’s legacy and Leo’s own record. Francis, who died in April, had famously said…, famously said, “If someone is gay… and he has good will, who am I to judge?” He declared that being gay is “not a crime” and allowed same-sex couples to receive blessings for the first time.
Francis stopped short of changing official teaching on marriage but shifted the tone toward hospitality. Leo, however, comes with a more complex background. Cardinal Robert Prevost in Peru warned against “sympathy for beliefs…at odds with the Gospel.” He explicitly cited the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families” of same-sex couples, according to Newsweek. Those older remarks resurfaced after his election and raised concern among liberal Catholics.
Since becoming pope, Leo has largely echoed Francis instead of repeating his own past speeches. In his interview with Crux and other early moves, he adopted an open-door tone similar to his predecessor’s. The National Catholic Reporter called Leo’s approach a balancing act. On LGBTQIA+ topics, he has “expressed openness to ongoing conversations” but quickly reinforced that Church teaching will not change anytime soon.
Should the Catholic Church adapt its teachings on marriage in today’s world? Comment below!
