Pope Leo meets LGBTQ+ Catholic advocate and vows continuity with Pope Francis’ legacy of welcome

VATICAN CITY AP Pope Leo XIV met Monday with one of the most of prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the Catholic Church and encouraged his ministry just days before a planned Holy Year pilgrimage of LGBTQ Catholics to the Vatican in a sign of continued welcome in this new pontificate The Rev James Martin a New York-based Jesuit author and editor reported Leo reported him he intended to continue Pope Francis strategy of LGBTQ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy I heard the same message from Pope Leo that I heard from Pope Francis which is the desire to welcome all people including LGBTQ people Martin communicated The Associated Press after the audience It was wonderful It was very consoling and very encouraging and frankly a lot of fun The meeting which lasted about a half-hour was officially disclosed by the Vatican in a sign that Leo requested it made constituents The audience was considerable because it proved a strong sign of continuity with Francis who more than any of Leo s predecessors worked to make the Catholic Church a more welcoming place for LGBTQ Catholics From his quip Who am I to judge about a purportedly gay priest to his decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples Francis distinguished himself with his message of welcome During his -year papacy from to Francis met on several occasions with Martin and named him an advisor in the Vatican s communications department and a member of his big multi-year meeting on the future of the church Still Francis never changed church teaching saying homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered Leo s position on LGBTQ Catholics had been something of a question Soon after he was elected in May remarks surfaced from in which the future pope then known as the Rev Robert Prevost criticized the homosexual lifestyle and the role of mass media in promoting acceptance of same-sex relationships that conflicted with Catholic doctrine When he became a cardinal in Catholic News System demanded Prevost if his views had changed He acknowledged Francis call for a more inclusive church saying Francis made it very clear that he doesn t want people to be excluded completely on the basis of choices that they make whether it be lifestyle work way to dress or whatever Prevost then underlined that doctrine had not changed But we are looking to be more welcoming and more open and to say all people are welcome in the church he stated Martin who knew Prevost from their time working together in the synod on the church s future explained he wasn t worried about Leo s views given Martin unfailingly had detected him to be a very open welcoming inclusive person But it s wonderful to hear this continuation Martin noted adding that Leo described him his priorities are to work for peace and unity citing in particular the conflicts in Ukraine Gaza and Myanmar But he also craved to remind people that this is a church for todos todos totos Martin reported quoting Francis famous line in Spanish about how the church is open to everyone todos Martin helped exposed Outreach a ministry promoting LGBTQ acceptance which will participate in a big Holy Year pilgrimage Friday and Saturday sponsored by Italian LGBTQ Catholic group Jonathan s Tent Significantly the pilgrimage includes a Mass at the Jesuit church in Rome celebrated by the second-highest member of the Italian bishop s conference The pilgrimage is not officially sponsored by the Vatican but is listed on the Vatican s calendar of Holy Year events Vatican functionaries say such a listing doesn t signify endorsement but is merely a logistical help to those groups that wish to organize pilgrimages and walk through the Holy Door of St Peter s Basilica But the pilgrimage and Martin s audience nevertheless send a signal that is consistent with church teaching that Jesus reaches out to people on the margins Martin declared The message he received from Leo was that if people were happy with Pope Francis approach to LGBTQ Catholics they re going to be happy with Pope Leo s approach And he required me to continue what I m doing which was very encouraging Martin announced Associated Press religion coverage receives encouragement through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content Source