New Pope’s Past Anti-LGBTQ Remarks Raise Alarms
Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected pope, made hostile anti-LGBTQ comments over a decade ago, raising concerns among LGBTQ Catholics.
Pope Leo XIV, the recently elected head of the Roman Catholic Church and the first U.S.-born pontiff, made hostile, anti-LGBTQ remarks about homosexuality and same-sex marriage more than a decade ago, sparking concerns in the LGBTQ community about whether he will be less welcoming than his predecessor, Pope Francis.
In 2012, while addressing the world synod of bishops, then-Father Robert Prevost criticized “Western mass media” for its sympathetic portrayal of “beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel,” specifically naming abortion, the so-called “homosexual lifestyle,” and euthanasia.
In those remarks, Prevost blamed the media for fostering so much “sympathy for anti-Christian lifestyles choices” that “when people hear the Christian message, it often inevitably seems ideological and emotionally cruel.”
“Catholic pastors who preach against the legalization of abortion or the redefinition of marriage are portrayed as being ideologically driven, severe and uncaring,” Prevost complained.
He whined that movies and television programs, like The New Normal and Modern Family, were warmly and benevolently portraying LGBTQ people and same-sex couples with adopted children, rather than condemning them as unworthy to live, as he apparently would have preferred, reports The Guardian.
He also called for a “new evangelization to counter these mass media-produced distortions of religious and ethical reality.”
At the same time, the new pope’s ideological bent is not one of doctrinaire conservatism, as right-wing ideologues, both within and outside of the Church, would have preferred.
Instead, Leo would largely be considered a successor to Francis, and seems amenable to promoting the Church’s social justice teachings, which remain popular with devout, regular churchgoers and more liberal Catholics.
Like Francis, he has been critical of nativist immigration policies and human rights abuses, is not outwardly hostile to non-Catholics, including Muslims, and expresses concern for the poor rather than seeing poverty as a karmic justification for some personal character flaw.
Prior to assuming the papacy, Prevost shared his thoughts on religious matters on social media.
Earlier this year, he reposted an article entitled, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” a reference to comments that the Vice President — who claims to be Catholic — made during a January interview on Fox News.
In April, when Trump met with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to discuss using a prison where human rights abuses took place to jail suspected gang members being deported from the United States, Prevost reposted a comment that included, “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed?”
Unsurprisingly, then, pro-Trump acolytes have blasted the pope for those comments, seeking to paint him as “anti-MAGA,” pro-“open borders,” and even a “Marxist,” as reported by Reuters.
After The New York Times reported on the pontiff’s previous anti-LGBTQ comments, American LGBTQ Catholic groups expressed alarm at the comments. They also expressed cautious optimism that Prevost would hew more closely to his predecessor’s legacy when it comes to respecting the dignity of LGBTQ individuals.
“We pray that as our church transitions from 12 years of a historic papacy, Pope Leo XIV will continue the welcome and outreach to LGBTQ+ people which Pope Francis inaugurated,” Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic group, said in a statement.
DeBernardo expressed hope that the new pope would educate himself about the marginalization, discrimination, and even violence that LGBTQ people face, and would open himself up to meeting with and listening to LGBTQ Catholics and their supporters.
“No matter what path Pope Leo follows regarding LGBTQ+ people, we have hope for an inclusive church,” DeBernardo said. “Catholics in the pews, who have been welcoming LGBTQ+ people for decades and work to make the church more welcoming, will continue to do so, guided by their faith experience.”
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