Pope Francis ‘ criticism of criminalization laws, according to activists in CURITIBA, Brazil, marked a turning point for the international LGBTQ+ and trans rights movement.
Francis ‘ remarks are” a communication that needs to be assimilated by at least 70 countries that still criminalize sexuality in some way, including 11 countries in which the death penalty can be applied,” according to Toni Reis, president of the Portuguese LGBTQ+ and transgender advocacy group Aliança Nacional LGBTI+.
In Curitiba, a city in southern Brazil, Reis and his father David Harrad baptized their three adopted children in 2017. Francis “wishes you happiness, invoking for your family the abudance of holy graces in order to survive firmly and faithfully as fine children of God and of the church,” Reis afterwards received on the official Vatican letterhead.
Reis told the Blade,” We are unable to find any mention of homosexuality as a sin in the recorded thoughts of Jesus Christ, on whom the Holy faith is founded.” ” There is no longer place for purposefully decontextualized readings of the books of some Apostles and the Old Testament in this impression.”
Francis said “being queer is not a violence” and called criminalization rules “unjust” in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press on January 24.
The pope acknowledged that some Catholic bishops support laws that discriminate against LGBTQ+ and transgender people as well as those that help criminalization. Francis added,” Bishops in particular have to undergo a process of change to identify the respect of people,” and said that cultural background contribute to these behaviour.
The first explicitly gay American ambassador was Chantale Wong, a U.S. director of the Asian Development Bank who was born in Shanghai.
After she left China with her mother in 1960, Wong’s aunt and uncle enrolled her in a Catholic bording class in Macau, which at the time had been ruled by the Portuguese. In honor of St. Jane Frances de Chantale, Wong was baptized and given the moniker” Chantale.”
Afterwards, she went to a Catholic high school in Guam that was exclusively for women.
He is unquestionably my pope, Wong retorted on January 25.
He’s unquestionably my Pope Francis! Pope claims that homosexuality is not a crime in the AP exam https://t.co/mN6XwzLdo5
— January 25, 2023, Ambassador Chantale Wong ( @chantalew )
Openly gay Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel thanked Francis in a post for his” strong and clear terms against the criminalization of LGBTIQ+ people in the world.” Bettel was echoed by Victor Madrigal- Borloz, an impartial U. N. professional on LGBTQ+ and transgender issues who visited Cambodia last month.
Madrigal- Borloz tweeted on January 25 that” Criminalization based on sexual orientation is opposed to international human rights law.” ” I appreciate ( the pope’s ) recognition.
International human rights laws forbids criminalization based on sexual orientation. I appreciate @Pontifex’s reputation. https ://t.co/YlzffgRUKT#IESOGI@free_equal
IE SOGI, January 25, 2023, Victor Madrigal-Borloz ( @victors_madrigals )
The “real evil” is sexuality.
Since Francis became pope in 2013, the Vatican’s stance on LGBTQ+ and trans issues has softerened.
Francis officially supported legal organizations for same-sex people ten years after strongly opposing a marriage equality act in his native Argentina before President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed it into law in 2010.
In 2013, the pope declared that gay men and lesbians should n’t be treated unfairly.
Francis after stated in 2016 that gay people should “ask compassion” from the Roman Catholic Church for how it has treated them. The pope compared Adolf Hitler to lawmakers who use hate speech to disparage LGBTQ, transgender, and other minority groups in 2017.
A group of Transgender sex workers in Italy who were struggling to survive the coronavirus epidemic received funding from the Vatican in 2020. Juan Carlos Cruz, a queer Peruvian person who has experienced clergy sexual abuse, was appointed by Francis in 2021 to the percentage that advises him on defending children from molester priests.
Last year, Francis encountered trans people who resided in a Rome chapel during many of his regular papal audiences.
Despite these efforts, church doctrines on sexuality and gender identification remain unaltered.
Francis mentioned LGBTQ+ and intersex issues in the context of” sin” in an Associated Press interview. Eventually, the pontiff made an effort to explain the remark.
Francis wrote in a handwritten email he sent to the Rev. Francis,” When I said it’s crime, I was just referring to Catholic social teaching, which says that every sexual work outside of marriage is sin.” Outreach, a site for LGBTQ+ and transgender Catholic, was edited by James Martin on January 27.
In an interview with the Blade, Pedro Julio Serrano, the leader of the LGBTQ+ and trans rights organization Puerto Rico Para Todes, acknowledged Francis as “proclaming the need to combat the criminalization of people of color.” But, Serrano added, the pontiff’s remarks do not alter religion doctrine.
Little has changed regarding dogma, philosophy, or the Catholic Church’s catechism, according to the statement. Serrano told the Blade,” All remains the same. ” There is no change as long as all that remains the same.”
Serrano emphasized that Francis ‘ definition of homosexuality as a” sin” is paradoxical.
Serrano declared,” Homophobia: That is the true sin.”
The Blade reported on Tuesday that Frank Mugisha, the executive producer of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a Ugandan LGBTQ+ and transgender rights organization, is Catholic.
Hundreds of nations continue to forbid sexual same-sex sexual relations, including Uganda.
In recent years, sexuality has been decriminalized in Singapore, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Botswan, Bhutan, and India.
Physical Minorities Uganda welcomes Francis ‘ speech, which he made prior to his journey to the Congo and South Sudan, according to Mugisha. ( Consensual same-sex sexual activity is permitted in the Congo, but it is still illegal in South Sudan. )
Mugisha told the Blade,” Being Catholic, I know the Catholic Church does honor the priest’s landscapes, and I hope the temple in Africa begins working with us to discriminate against homosexuality.”
In response to Francis ‘ remarks, ILGA World Co-Secretaries General Luz Elena Aranda and Tuisina Ymania Brown said,” Such a simple statement now has the potential to initiate much-needed change and will provide relief to millions of people in our communities across the world.” Like Serrano, ILGA World Executive Director Julia Ehrt stated that if the pope’s opposition to criminalization laws is to have any real effect, Vatican philosophy toward Gay and intersex individuals needs to change.
Ehrt remarked,” We implore the Holy See to put these words into action.” The Catholic Church and its organizations can and should actively support legalization work in the United Nations and other international organizations, where calls for the repeal of these egregiously flawed rules have long been made.
In response to Francis ‘ remarks, Outright International, a New York-based international LGBTQ+ and transgender rights organization, also mentioned church doctrines.
Outright International said in a statement to the Blade,” We welcome Pope Francis ‘ message of inclusion and acceptance.” LGBTIQ people and communities around the world frequently experience bias, persecution, and alienation. Conversion methods, which are frequently carried out and approved in the name of religion teachings, cause some people in some countries permanent physical and emotional harm.
Religious leaders have a long history of spreading false beliefs about same-sex relationships and posing as social challenges. As a result, LGBTIQ individuals face intimidation, cultural stigma, and violent attacks. Outright International continued,” Work to oppose the advancement of human freedom for LGBTIQ people have also been influenced by the church’s steps.” ” In this lengthy journey for full equality, our hope is that the priest’s statement will develop respect, dignity, and meetings that may lead to change in behaviour and lasting legal privileges.”
