LGBTQ Catholics mourn Pope Francis and reflect on ‘complicated’ record
The death of Pope Francis prompted LGBTQ Catholics to mourn and reflect on what many say was a complicated 12-year papacy, which was marked by a combination of progress — including the blessing of same-sex couples — and disappointment over the Catholic Church’s problematic policies on queer issues under his leadership. Pope Francis, who died … Read More
The death of Pope Francis prompted LGBTQ Catholics to mourn and reflect on what many say was a complicated 12-year papacy, which was marked by a combination of progress — including the blessing of same-sex couples — and disappointment over the Catholic Church’s problematic policies on queer issues under his leadership.
Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, made headlines in 2013 when he was asked about gay clergy and said, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” Three years later, he said the Catholic Church should “apologize to the person who is gay whom it has offended." In 2020, he seemed to express support for civil unions and same-sex families, but the Vatican ultimately sought to qualify those comments by saying that his comments were “edited and published as a single answer without proper contextualization, which has led to confusion.” In 2023, the Vatican said transgender individuals could be baptized in the church so long as there is no "public scandal or confusion among the faithful."
Out gay New York native Aaron Bianco, a Catholic Church leader who overcame fierce adversity at a church in San Diego and now teaches theology at St. Elizabeth University in Morristown, New Jersey, said Pope Francis stood out from his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
“Benedict called for a smaller but holier church,” Bianco said in a phone interview with Gay City News on April 21. “And Francis said that wasn’t right, that the church should welcome anyone. He compared it to an ocean of fish swimming in different ways, but they all belong to that ocean.”
Bianco said Pope Francis’ death is indeed a heartache for the church, but he stressed that it is especially heartbreaking for those on the margins.
“He was such an advocate for everyone to be included in the church — and not just a pretend welcome, but a sincere call that those in the LGBT community actually have a place at the table,” Bianco said. “I pray that it continues and the church will continue to look towards where he has brought us. I’m not sure that’s going to be the case.”
[caption id="attachment_17594" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Aaron Bianco during an interview with Gay City News in 2019.Matt Tracy[/caption]
Many other tributes to Pope Francis in the hours after his death were notably quick to highlight the positives of his work to improve the Catholic Church. Francis DeBernardo, who is the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a 48-year-old national Catholic ministry of justice and reconciliation for LGBTQ people, insisted that Pope Francis was “not only the first pope to use the word ‘gay’ when speaking about LGBTQ+ people, he was the first pope to speak lovingly and tenderly to them.”
And Meli Barber, the president of DignityUSA, an LGBTQ Catholic group founded in 1969, said the organization honors "Francis' faithful and compassionate leadership and service to our church and the world.”
“We also recognize that Pope Francis has raised awareness of LGBTQ+ issues in our church in truly unprecedented ways,” Barber said in a written statement. “He spoke about us using our own terms and made a point of being seen meeting with LGBTQ+ people frequently. This sent a message of recognition and inclusion we never experienced from the Vatican before.”
However, they also spoke candidly about the limitations of Pope Francis’ efforts to improve the church’s landscape for LGBTQ people.
DeBernardo said the pope "did have areas where his welcome was not as wide as it could have been," citing his use of the term "gender ideology" — a phrase commonly used by President Donald Trump and others when disparaging transgender individuals — among the concerns.
Marianne Duddy-Burke, the executive director of DignityUSA, also acknowledged what she described as a "complicated" record for the pope.
“Even with the recognition of so many positive words and actions, church teachings and even some recent Vatican documents remain problematic,” Duddy-Burke said. “Many LGBTQ+ people and families welcomed the pronouncement that same-sex couples can be blessed by priests and allowing transgender people to be baptized and to serve as godparents. However, Dignitas Infinita’s equating transgender peoples’ need to embrace their gender with evils like poverty and sexual abuse and failing to change catechetical teachings that say being gay is inconsistent with God’s plan for humanity continue to lead to discrimination and even violence.”
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Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square in 2013.Wikimedia Commons/Edgar Jiménez[/caption]
When asked about LGBTQ groups in the US who say Pope Francis had a complicated record, Bianco argued that Americans often believe the world revolves around the US.
“He was a pope for over one billion people, the vast majority of them not in the western world,” Bianco said. “So he had to look forward and say, ‘How did they react to LGBT issues in Africa? In South America?’ He could not just say, ‘OK, Americans, I get you want me to move the church forward.’”
He added: “I really believe it would have caused a schism in the church if he had done what he really wanted to do.”
Bianco, whose leadership role in a San Diego church prompted an outpouring of hate — homophobic death threats, punctured car tires, and anti-gay graffiti scrawled on his church, among other horrifying incidents — had a chance to meet with the pope while attending a conference. During their brief meeting, he said, the pope told him he was aware of what he had endured at the church in San Diego.
“These are the kinds of things that made him so available to you,” Biaco said. “I never thought the pope would know the situation I had in San Diego. He said as I was leaving that I had to continue doing the work I was doing because the work had to be done."
Aaron Bianco during an interview with Gay City News in 2019.Matt Tracy[/caption]
Many other tributes to Pope Francis in the hours after his death were notably quick to highlight the positives of his work to improve the Catholic Church. Francis DeBernardo, who is the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a 48-year-old national Catholic ministry of justice and reconciliation for LGBTQ people, insisted that Pope Francis was “not only the first pope to use the word ‘gay’ when speaking about LGBTQ+ people, he was the first pope to speak lovingly and tenderly to them.”
And Meli Barber, the president of DignityUSA, an LGBTQ Catholic group founded in 1969, said the organization honors "Francis' faithful and compassionate leadership and service to our church and the world.”
“We also recognize that Pope Francis has raised awareness of LGBTQ+ issues in our church in truly unprecedented ways,” Barber said in a written statement. “He spoke about us using our own terms and made a point of being seen meeting with LGBTQ+ people frequently. This sent a message of recognition and inclusion we never experienced from the Vatican before.”
However, they also spoke candidly about the limitations of Pope Francis’ efforts to improve the church’s landscape for LGBTQ people.
DeBernardo said the pope "did have areas where his welcome was not as wide as it could have been," citing his use of the term "gender ideology" — a phrase commonly used by President Donald Trump and others when disparaging transgender individuals — among the concerns.
Marianne Duddy-Burke, the executive director of DignityUSA, also acknowledged what she described as a "complicated" record for the pope.
“Even with the recognition of so many positive words and actions, church teachings and even some recent Vatican documents remain problematic,” Duddy-Burke said. “Many LGBTQ+ people and families welcomed the pronouncement that same-sex couples can be blessed by priests and allowing transgender people to be baptized and to serve as godparents. However, Dignitas Infinita’s equating transgender peoples’ need to embrace their gender with evils like poverty and sexual abuse and failing to change catechetical teachings that say being gay is inconsistent with God’s plan for humanity continue to lead to discrimination and even violence.”
[caption id="attachment_56513" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square in 2013.Wikimedia Commons/Edgar Jiménez[/caption]
When asked about LGBTQ groups in the US who say Pope Francis had a complicated record, Bianco argued that Americans often believe the world revolves around the US.
“He was a pope for over one billion people, the vast majority of them not in the western world,” Bianco said. “So he had to look forward and say, ‘How did they react to LGBT issues in Africa? In South America?’ He could not just say, ‘OK, Americans, I get you want me to move the church forward.’”
He added: “I really believe it would have caused a schism in the church if he had done what he really wanted to do.”
Bianco, whose leadership role in a San Diego church prompted an outpouring of hate — homophobic death threats, punctured car tires, and anti-gay graffiti scrawled on his church, among other horrifying incidents — had a chance to meet with the pope while attending a conference. During their brief meeting, he said, the pope told him he was aware of what he had endured at the church in San Diego.
“These are the kinds of things that made him so available to you,” Biaco said. “I never thought the pope would know the situation I had in San Diego. He said as I was leaving that I had to continue doing the work I was doing because the work had to be done." What's Your Reaction?
