Pope Francis sent a letter to a Jesuit priest in which he said the Church did not reject gay Catholics.

James Martin, a member of the Society of Jesus and adviser to the Vatican Department of Communications, asked the Pope what he would say to a member of the LGBT+ community “rejected by the Church”.

The Pope then replied in writing: “I want you to take this not as a ‘denial of the Church’ but as ‘the people in the Church’. The Church is a mother and calls out to all her children, the righteous, the sinners, the rich and the poor, etc.’ The ‘selective’ is a ‘pure blood’ Church, not a Church of the Holy Mother, but a denomination”.

The exchange of messages was announced by Martin on the Outreach website, which targets gay Catholics. “I asked three questions and told the Pope that he could cut it short if he wished, especially because he had knee pain, and he could answer however he wanted. Three days later I got a handwritten note with his answers,” he said. Jesuit.

The pastor also asked the Pope, “What is the most important thing LGBTs need to know about God” and “What do I want LGBTIs to know about the Church”.

Regarding the first question, Francis said, “God is a father and never denies any of his children. God’s ‘style’ is closeness, mercy and compassion. You will find God on this path.”

As for the second question, Jorge Bergoglio wrote, “I want you to read Acts of the Apostles.” “You’ll find a picture of the Church living there,” he added.

This is not the first time the Pope has made public statements of openness to the LGBT+ community. In May 2018, Francis said the phrase “God loves you like that” to a gay man who was a victim of pedophilia in Chile.

On another occasion, early in his pontificate, he stated that he could not “judge” people based on their sexual orientation.

This more open stance earned Bergoglio strong opposition in the more conservative wings of the Church, and even accusations of “heresy”.

But at the same time, Francis has already said that “homosexuality seems to be in vogue” and that he is concerned about its presence among priests and clergy. In addition, the Vatican lobbied in the Italian parliament to shelve a bill that criminalizes homophobia and transphobia.