Pope Francis was soon inaugurated as head of the Catholic Church in 2013, when he famously expressed his willingness to embrace gay believers. “Am I in a position to judge?” This question has persisted throughout his papacy. Late last year, the Vatican issued guidelines allowing transgender people to be baptized and serve as godparents, and later gave Catholic priests permission to bless same-sex couples.
But the Church still opposes same-sex marriage, teaching that homosexuality is “intrinsically immoral and contrary to natural law.” Even within the Church, opposition remains to the Pope’s relatively open stance on these issues.
The pope also made headlines this week after using a derogatory term for homosexuals during a private meeting with bishops, a move that led the Vatican to issue an unprecedented apology after the incident went viral.
Casey Parks Kelsey Ables, Robyn Dixon, Natalia Abakumova, Anthony Faiola and Stefano Pitrelli contributed to this report.