Pope Francis affirmed that “the Church does not reject homosexuals, the people of the Church do”

The Church does not reject homosexuals, but they make the “people of the Church”said Pope Francis in response to a letter sent by American Jesuit priest James Martin to most common question of LGBTQ Catholics and their families.

“God is father and he does not deny any of his children“, wrote the pontiff in his short reply, published this Monday in the middle Outreach, with Father Martin’s questions: What would you say is most important for LGBT people to know about God? What do you want LGBT people to know about the church, and what would you say to an LGBT Catholic who has experienced rejection from the church?

The result was a “mini-interview”, defined by the priest, activist for the rights of LGBTQ Catholics, general editor of Jesuit magazine America and appointed by Francis as a consultant to the Vatican Secretariat of Communications in 2017.

“Regarding your questions, I can think of a very simple answer,” Francis wrote in a handwritten letter in Spanish that appears to have been published in U.S. media along with English text.

To the first question, the pope replied that “God is the Father and does not deny any of his children. And God’s ‘style’ is ‘nearness, mercy and tenderness’. In this path you will find God ”, while regarding what he wants the LGTBQ community to know about the Church, he affirms that“ they have read the book of Acts. There is the picture of the living Church. “

Francis was clear on what he would say to a Catholic from that community who had experienced rejection from the Church.

“I will show him that it is not‘ the rejection of the Church ’ but of the ‘people of the Church’. The Church is a mother and calls all her children ”, she assured, before pointing out, for example,“ the parable of the party guests: ‘righteous, sinful, rich and poor, etc.’. A ‘selective’ Church, a ‘pure-blooded’ Church, is not a Holy Mother Church, but a sect, ”he said.

The pope has condemned on many occasions the rejection of homosexual people and last January, during a general hearing, he asked parents to accompany a son with a different sexual orientation and not hide behind condemning behaviors. “

Source: EFE