Pope Francis: Catholic Church and Christians ‘Must Ask Forgiveness’ and ‘Apologize’ to Gay People

Also, the Poor, Women, and Children

Pope Francis says all Christians and the Catholic Church must apologize to gay people for the way they have been treated. The pontiff made the historic remarks on the papal plane returning back to Rome from Armenia.

“We Christians have to apologize for so many things, not just for this [treatment of gay people], but we must ask for forgiveness. Not just apologize – forgiveness,” the Pope said, The Straits Times reports. The Pope had been asked if he agreed with a high-ranking German cardinal’s recent remarks that Christians and the Church needing to say they are sorry to gay people.

“The questions is: if a person who has that condition, who has good will, and who looks for God, who are we to judge?,” the Pope added, echoing his famous comments, “Who am I to judge?” about gay people several years ago. 

“I repeat what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: that they must not be discriminated against, that they must be respected and accompanied pastorally,” the Pope also said, according to CNN. “The Church must ask forgiveness for not behaving many times — when I say the Church, I mean Christians! The Church is holy, we are sinners!”

The Pope also mentioned others the Church has marginalized.

“I think that the Church not only should apologize,” Pope Francis told reporters on the plane, “to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologize to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been forced to work, it has to ask forgiveness for having blessed many weapons.”

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx had said that the Catholic Church has been “very negative” about gay people and should apologize.

The editor-at-large of Catholic magazine America, Rev. James Martin, “called the Pope’s apology to gays and lesbians historic,” CNN reports.

“This is a groundbreaking moment. While St. John Paul II apologized to several groups in 2000–the Jewish people, indigenous peoples, immigrants and women, among them–no pope has ever come close to apologizing to the LGBT community. And the Pope is correct of course. First, because forgiveness is an essential part of the Christian life. And second, because no group feels more marginalized in the church today than LGBT people.”

UPDATE:
The Catholic News Agency posted a transcript of the Pope’s full remarks:

Cindy Wooden, CNS: Holiness, within the past few days Cardinal Marx, the German, speaking at a large conference in Dublin which is very important on the Church in the modern world, said that the Catholic Church must ask forgiveness to the gay community for having marginalized these people. In the days following the shooting in Orlando, many have said that the Christian community had something to do with this hate toward these people. What do you think?

Pope Francis: I will repeat what I said on my first trip. I repeat what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: that they must not be discriminated against, that they must be respected and accompanied pastorally. One can condemn, but not for theological reasons, but for reasons of political behavior…Certain manifestations are a bit too offensive for others, no? … But these are things that have nothing to do with the problem. The problem is a person that has a condition, that has good will and who seeks God, who are we to judge? And we must accompany them well…this is what the catechism says, a clear catechism. Then there are traditions in some countries, in some cultures that have a different mentality on this problem. I think that the Church must not only ask forgiveness – like that “Marxist Cardinal” said (laughs) – must not only ask forgiveness to the gay person who is offended. But she must ask forgiveness to the poor too, to women who are exploited, to children who are exploited for labor. She must ask forgiveness for having blessed so many weapons. The Church must ask forgiveness for not behaving many times – when I say the Church, I mean Christians! The Church is holy, we are sinners! – Christians must ask forgiveness for having not accompanied so many choices, so many families…I remember from my childhood the culture in Buenos Aires, the closed Catholic culture. I go over there, eh! A divorced family couldn’t enter the house, and I’m speaking of 80 years ago. The culture has changed, thanks be to God. Christians must ask forgiveness for many things, not just these. Forgiveness, not just apologies. Forgive, Lord. It’s a word that many times we forget. Now I’m a pastor and I’m giving a sermon. No, this is true, many times. Many times … but the priest who is a master and not a father, the priest who beats and not the priest who embraces, forgives and consoles. But there are many. There are many hospital chaplains, prison chaplains, many saints. But these ones aren’t seen. Because holiness is modest, it’s hidden. Instead it’s a little bit of blatant shamelessness, it’s blatant and you see so many organizations of good people and people who aren’t as good and people who … because you give a purse that’s a little big and look at you from the other side like the international powers with three genocides. We Christians – priests, bishops – we have done this. But also we Christians have Teresa of Calcutta and many Teresa of Calcuttas. We have many servants in Africa, many laity, many holy marriages. The wheat and the weeds. And so Jesus says that the Kingdom … we must not be scandalized for being like this. We must pray so that the Lord makes these weeds end and there is more grain. But this is the life of the Church. We can’t put limits. All of us are saints, because all of us have the Holy Spirit. But we are all sinners, me first of all! Alright. I don’t know if I have replied.

 

 

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