Pope Leo meets LGBTQ+ Catholic advocate and vows continuity with Pope Francis’ legacy of welcome

[public hermit]

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV met Monday with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church and encouraged his ministry, sending a strong signal of welcome in the early months of his pontificate.

The Rev. James Martin, a New York-based Jesuit author and editor, said Leo told him he intended to continue Pope Francis’ policy of LGBTQ+ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy.

“I heard the same message from Pope Leo that I heard from Pope Francis, which is the desire to welcome all people, including LGBTQ people,” Martin told The Associated Press after the audience. “It was wonderful. It was very consoling and very encouraging and frankly a lot of fun.”

Pope Leo meets LGBTQ+ Catholic advocate and vows continuity with Pope Francis' legacy of welcome

Pope Leo XIV has met with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church. The Rev.

apnews.com

 

[public hermit]

The thing is, the Catholic Church (I think) makes a distinction between "gay" as in "same-sex oriented" and "gay" as in "actively sleeping with people of the same sex". The former is ok, so long as one is celibate, the latter, not. So, yeah, technically, gay people, bisexual folks, and the gender dysphoric definitely could be welcomed, but that is not the same as affirming / blessing something inherently wrong.

Yeah, I asked about gay priests in the OBOB subforum recently and was given a similar response. Honestly, I had no idea there were many gay priests in the RCC, but it's not uncommom (it depends but numbers vary from 15% to 50%, and it seems more prevalent the higher one goes in the hierarchy).

Coming Out In The Vatican A Homosexual Theocracy

Dr. Fèdèric Martel has a PhD in social science, and master’s degrees in law, political science, philosophy, social science. He is a visiting professor at Harvard and since 2025, is a professor at the University of Zurich. He spent four years traveling to more than thirty countries interviewing...

www.christianforums.com

 

[caffeinated hermit]

Yeah, I asked about gay priests in the OBOB subforum recently and was given a similar response. Honestly, I had no idea there were many gay priests in the RCC, but it's not uncommom (it depends but numbers vary from 15% to 50%, and it seems more prevalent the higher one goes in the hierarchy).

Coming Out In The Vatican A Homosexual Theocracy

Dr. Fèdèric Martel has a PhD in social science, and master’s degrees in law, political science, philosophy, social science. He is a visiting professor at Harvard and since 2025, is a professor at the University of Zurich. He spent four years traveling to more than thirty countries interviewing...

www.christianforums.com

Maybe this is one of the reasons for the horrible abuse scandals. It seems like a *lot* of the abuse was men preying on boys. I suspect some men enter the priesthood thinking that holy orders will kind of dull or erase their same-sex orientation, only to find themselves slowly turning into creeps when left alone with other males (especially younger kids). Other guys may head into the priesthood as a cover to be abusive and they have this mindset going in. It's sad, and awful.

Ideally, I think, gay men are encouraged not to become priests for exactly this reason, but I guess it's hard to tell and hard to get people to tell the truth about something like that.

 

[public hermit]

Maybe this is one of the reasons for the horrible abuse scandals. It seems like a *lot* of the abuse was men preying on boys. I suspect some men enter the priesthood thinking that holy orders will kind of dull or erase their same-sex orientation, only to find themselves slowly turning into creeps when left alone with other males (especially younger kids). Other guys may head into the priesthood as a cover to be abusive and they have this mindset going in. It's sad, and awful.

Ideally, I think, gay men are encouraged not to become priests for exactly this reason, but I guess it's hard to tell and hard to get people to tell the truth about something like that.

I can see why a Catholic who has same-sex attraction, wants to live a celibate life, and feels called to the vocation would become a priest. One would hope they would take their vows seriously, and certainly not become a predator, but it seems well fitted for that kind of situation.

I wonder if there are many practicing Catholics (laypeople) who are same-sex oriented and celibate. Since that is the Church's position, one would think there would be plenty of examples or even groups showing that it can be done and done well, and perhaps there are.

 

[caffeinated hermit]

I wonder if there are many practicing Catholics (laypeople) who are same-sex oriented and celibate. Since that is the Church's position, one would think there would be plenty of examples or even groups showing that it can be done and done well, and perhaps there are.

If they don't exist, lay groups for celibate, lgb Catholics would be an awesome idea. There's this Anglican guy (bless his heart) who's stood up for a gay-yet-celibate witness within Anglicanism and he's toughing it out over there despite the very, very affirming stance.

As a gay Christian, here’s how I’m marking Pride

David Bennett is a celibate gay Christian and author of A War of Loves. He holds a biblically-traditional ethic and believes Pride month is an opportunity for Christians to pursue humility

www.premierchristianity.com

 

[RileyG]

I can see why a Catholic who has same-sex attraction, wants to live a celibate life, and feels called to the vocation would become a priest. One would hope they would take their vows seriously, and certainly not become a predator, but it seems well fitted for that kind of situation.

I wonder if there are many practicing Catholics (laypeople) who are same-sex oriented and celibate. Since that is the Church's position, one would think there would be plenty of examples or even groups showing that it can be done and done well, and perhaps there are.

Yes. Courage is one program that is endorsed by the Church.

 

[RileyG]

If they don't exist, lay groups for celibate, lgb Catholics would be an awesome idea. There's this Anglican guy (bless his heart) who's stood up for a gay-yet-celibate witness within Anglicanism and he's toughing it out over there despite the very, very affirming stance.

As a gay Christian, here’s how I’m marking Pride

David Bennett is a celibate gay Christian and author of A War of Loves. He holds a biblically-traditional ethic and believes Pride month is an opportunity for Christians to pursue humility

www.premierchristianity.com

They do! Courage/encourage is one!

 

[NBB]

sin and 'advocate' shouldn't exists, is like saying murderer, robber, adulterer advocate, but today people call good bad and bad good, which the bible says is horrible.

 

[FireDragon76]

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV met Monday with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church and encouraged his ministry, sending a strong signal of welcome in the early months of his pontificate.

The Rev. James Martin, a New York-based Jesuit author and editor, said Leo told him he intended to continue Pope Francis’ policy of LGBTQ+ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy.

“I heard the same message from Pope Leo that I heard from Pope Francis, which is the desire to welcome all people, including LGBTQ people,” Martin told The Associated Press after the audience. “It was wonderful. It was very consoling and very encouraging and frankly a lot of fun.”

Pope Leo meets LGBTQ+ Catholic advocate and vows continuity with Pope Francis' legacy of welcome

Pope Leo XIV has met with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church. The Rev.

apnews.com

That's good news but I'd like to see more evidence that it translates to practical, concrete steps at welcome and inclusion.

 

[Servus]

I'm reminded of this scene from the Young Pope. The setup is the Pope had a button installed to summon a nun to come in with some pretext to get him out of an uncomfortable situation.