Pope Francis was game-changer, says London LGBT Catholic group
"More conservative Catholics were up in arms because they saw this as the Pope affirming an LGBT group such as we were and are," he said.He described the meeting as a "very significant step" in improving the Church's relations with the LGBT+ community."It was a personal affirmation, but it was also an affirmation of the kind of ministry that we offer here in the Diocese of Westminster, which is a welcoming ministry for LGBT Catholics, parents and families," Mr Pendergast said.
He said another change to tradition took place in 2023 when Pope Francis permitted the blessing of same-sex couples. The pontiff said at the time that any request for a blessing should be treated with "pastoral charity".During Francis's papacy, some priests who were openly gay were removed from their posts but the Vatican changed this policy in 2023, allowing gay men to enter the priesthood as long as they remained celibate.The Pope also issued an apology in May last year following reports that he had used extremely derogatory language towards gay men in a private meeting.
Francis, the first Pope from South America, is also being remembered by other Catholic communities across London.Fr Carlos Abajos, chaplain to the Latin American community at St Anne's Church in Vauxhall, said it was an "amazing surprise" to them when the Argentine was elected Pope in 2013."We thought that was the opportunity for our Latin American community because we were very well-represented," he said.Fr Abajos said Pope Francis adopted a "Latin American style" in his approach to the papacy."He was so near to the people, so spontaneous."
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Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Clip of glam Sydney Sweeney expertly shooting targets goes viral as her ‘secret MAGA life' emerges after anti-woke ad
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The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
‘He is keeping his cards close to his chest': Pope Leo's first three months
A few days after his election as pope in May, Leo XIV stepped into a chauffeur-driven black Volkswagen minivan with tinted windows and made a surprise visit to the international headquarters of the Augustinian order in Rome. Not only was he the first American pope, the tiny religious order that Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, ran for 12 years had also just produced its first pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic church. Still somewhat bewildered by his election, he had a yearning to see his fellow Augustinian brothers. Over lunch, Leo spoke about the sudden change to his life and how he would need to renounce his pleasure of driving or freely going for a walk. 'He appeared very tense on TV so it was nice to see him more relaxed,' said Pasquale Cormio, the rector of the Basilica of St Augustine in central Rome's Campo Marzio, who met Leo during their priesthood training. 'He was aware of the weight of the role, but said: 'Look, I assure you, I will never give up being your brother'.' The new pope's first months – he marks three months as pontiff this week – have been relatively low-key despite hosting plenty of audiences, and the Augustinian emphasis on unity, listening widely, community and collaboration appear to have guided him. Leo's style starkly contrasts with his often divisive and hasty Jesuit predecessor, the late Pope Francis, even though they shared similar progressive political views. Francis, elected in 2013, snubbed the Vatican's traditional trappings by choosing to live in a room in a humble guesthouse rather than the Apostolic Palace, ditching its fancy cars for a modest Fiat and opting out of spending his summers in the papal palace in Castel Gandolfo, a hilltop town close to Rome. 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'Leo is moving cautiously but he is more clear in his denunciation of the Israeli government,' said Marco Politi, a Vatican journalist and author of the book The Unfinished Revolution: The Church After Francis. 'This represents a problem for Israel because, unlike Francis, who might have been considered a bit reckless and gaffe-prone, it proves that nothing has changed in the Vatican's continued support of Palestinian rights.' Unlike the Jesuits, whose structure is more hierarchical, Politi said Leo clearly signalled how he would lead the church during his inauguration mass homily when he said the pope 'is not a lone leader or a leader placed above others'. This approach was evident when he handed the microphone to Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Catholic Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, to initially speak out after the attack on the Gaza church. 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BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Pope tells crowd of one million young Catholics ‘a different world is possible'
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