Pope Francis has once again surprised members of the Roman Catholic Church and the public at large with his generous and inclusive views on homosexuality.
The Pontiff, who has been named Man of the Year 2013 by several major publications, told a meeting of the Union of Superiors General last November that the Church had to change the way in which it deals with children of homosexual or divorced couples.
Although the three-hour long discussion took place last November, details of it have only just been published by the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica.
The original report on the Pope’s remarks was written by a Jesuit priest, Antonio Spadaro, S.J. Sections of his report were reproduced by the Italian press on Saturday.
Reminiscing about his days as a priest in Argentina, Pope Francis recalled the sadness of a little girl who said: “my mother’s girlfriend does not like me.”
The Pope added: “The percentage of children studying in schools who have separated parents is very high. How can we proclaim Christ to these boys and girls? How can we proclaim Christ to a generation that is changing? We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them.”
The National Catholic Reporter, a highly respected faith magazine said, “Pope Francis was referring to a girl whose mother is in a homosexual relationship”.
The Pope will discuss matters concerning the Church and family life — issues such as divorce, remarriage, gay and lesbian relationships — in an extraordinary Conference of Bishops in autumn this year.
The Pope who has steadily conquered hearts and minds across the world declared last July: “If someone who is gay and is sincerely seeking God who am I to judge?” The Catholic Church officially frowns upon any form of homosexuality.
In 2013, the magazine The Advocate that defends gay rights, had declared Pope Francis its Man of the Year for everything he’s done for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans-sexual) community.
However, the Pope runs the risk of falling foul of many growing Catholic communities, especially in Africa, which are vociferously anti-homosexuality.
