Romain Rouillard 9:00 p.m., January 25, 2023

The sovereign pontiff declared, in an interview granted to the Associated Press (AP), that homosexuality was a "sin" but that it was not a "crime".

He also felt that anti-LGBT laws were "unfair" and that the Church should work to end them.

Without denying his principles, Pope Francis has shown a certain openness on the subject of homosexuality.

Questioned by the Associated Press agency, the sovereign pontiff did not depart from the doctrine of the Catholic Church by affirming that it was a “sin”, as reported by BFMTV.

It thus aligns itself with a position reaffirmed in 2021 by the Holy See according to which a same-sex couple could not receive the sacrament of marriage.

Nevertheless, the Pope quickly qualified his remarks.

"Being gay is not a crime," he said, while considering that laws penalizing LGBT people around the world were "unfair".

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He even showed himself in favor of the Catholic Church working to banish them.

Never in history has a Pope agreed to discuss this type of legislation in public.

With regard to priests who support this discrimination, Pope Francis has urged them to show “tenderness” and to engage in a “process of conversion”.

"It is also a sin to lack charity towards each other," he said.

He also believed that homosexuals should be welcomed and respected and not marginalized.

Welcome words

Associated Press specifies that these remarks were "welcomed" by the LGBT community.

“His historic statement should send a message to world leaders and millions of Catholics around the world: LGBTQ+ people deserve to live in a world free of violence and condemnation, and with more kindness and understanding,” responded Sarah Kate Ellis. , president of GLAAD, an American association for the defense of LGBT people. 

"Other influential voices in faith, government, business, sports, and entertainment should now similarly speak out on outdated laws that criminalize the lives and relationships of LGBTQ people," said GLAAD President and CEO @sarahkateellishttps://t.co/KWfsCSzJIR

— GLAAD (@glaad) January 25, 2023

To date, 67 countries or jurisdictions criminalize homosexuality according to the British organization The Human Dignity Trust.

Including in the United States where sodomy laws still exist in some states, despite a Supreme Court ruling in 2003 declaring them unconstitutional.