Pope Francis said on Sunday that the Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the gay community, and that it has a duty to accompany them on a personal path of spirituality but within the framework of its rules.
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that the Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the gay community, and that it has a duty to accompany them on a personal path of spirituality but within the framework of its rules.
Francis, speaking to reporters on the plane returning to Rome from Portugal, also said his health was good following surgery for an abdominal hernia in June.
Flying back from the World Youth Day Catholic festival in Portugal, the 86-year-old pope appeared in good form as he took questions for about half an hour at his customary freewheeling post-trip press conference while seated at the front of the reporters’ section in the rear part of the plane.
One reporter reminded him that during the trip, he said the Church was open to “everyone, everyone, everyone” and asked if it was not incoherent that some, such as women and gay people, did not have the same rights and could not receive some sacraments.
Since the start of his papacy, Francis has been trying to make the Church more welcoming and less condemning, including to members of the LGBT community, but without changing teachings that urge those with same-sex attraction to be chaste.
Francis has pushed a series of reforms since he became pope 10 years ago, including giving more roles to women, particularly in high-ranking Vatican positions, but faces a delicate balance between appealing to more liberal believers and upsetting conservatives.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that the Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the gay community, and that it has a duty to accompany them on a personal path of spirituality but within the framework of its rules.
Francis, speaking to reporters on the plane returning to Rome from Portugal, also said his health was good following surgery for an abdominal hernia in June.
Flying back from the World Youth Day Catholic festival in Portugal, the 86-year-old pope appeared in good form as he took questions for about half an hour at his customary freewheeling post-trip press conference while seated at the front of the reporters’ section in the rear part of the plane.
One reporter reminded him that during the trip, he said the Church was open to “everyone, everyone, everyone” and asked if it was not incoherent that some, such as women and gay people, did not have the same rights and could not receive some sacraments.
Since the start of his papacy, Francis has been trying to make the Church more welcoming and less condemning, including to members of the LGBT community, but without changing teachings that urge those with same-sex attraction to be chaste.
Francis has pushed a series of reforms since he became pope 10 years ago, including giving more roles to women, particularly in high-ranking Vatican positions, but faces a delicate balance between appealing to more liberal believers and upsetting conservatives.
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