In an interview granted this Tuesday to the American press agency Associated Press (AP), Pope Francis affirmed that homosexuality was not a “crime” but a “sin”.
The sovereign pontiff, however, described as “unjust” the laws which penalize this sexual orientation throughout the world, relays BFMTV.
“It is also a sin to lack charity towards each other,” said the sovereign pontiff, who called on priests supporting discrimination against LGBTQ people to be more “tender”.
While inviting them to engage in a "conversion process" in order to welcome these believers into the church.
By qualifying homosexuality as a sin, the pope reaffirms the Vatican's position on this subject.
Already in 2021, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican institution responsible for preaching and preserving Catholic dogma, had already used this term on purpose.
Death penalty in some countries
“God never stops blessing each of his sons […].
But He neither blesses nor can bless sin,” the congregation said at the time.
The institution had added that "the Church does not have, nor can it have, the power to bless the unions of persons of the same sex", affirming at the same time that this text had been approved by Pope Francis.
As a reminder, 67 countries or jurisdictions criminalize homosexuality in the world.
According to the Human Dignity Trust association, 11 of them are able to pronounce the death penalty for this "crime".
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