Aboard the Papal Plane (CNN)Pope Francis
said Sunday that Christians owe apologies to gays and others who have
been offended or exploited by the church, remarks that some Catholics
hailed as a breakthrough in the church's tone toward homosexuality.
"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," Francis said at a press conference aboard the
papal plane returning from Armenia.
"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!"
As
he often does during unscripted moments -- particularly papal news
conferences -- the Pope spoke expansively, saying the church should seek
forgiveness for a number of historical slights committed in its name.
Groundbreaking Moment
"I
believe that the church not only should apologize to the person who is
gay whom it has offended," he added, "but has to apologize to the poor,
to exploited women, to children exploited for labor; it has to ask
forgiveness for having blessed many weapons."
The
Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at large of America
magazine, called the Pope's apology to gays and lesbians "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."
The
Pope's comments came in response to a question about a German Cardinal
who said the Catholic Church should apologize for being "very negative"
about gays. The Pope was also asked whether Christians bear some blame
for hatred toward the LGBT community, as horrifically demonstrated in
the Orlando massacre at a gay night club that killed 49 people on June
12.
Repeating the teaching of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church about respecting and not discriminating against
gays, Pope Francis said that one could condemn certain behavior.
"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."
'Immense Blessing'
Francis
first uttered that rhetorical question -- Who am I to judge gay people?
-- in 2013, also during a news conference on the papal plane. His
comments were hailed as a breakthrough for a church that has
historically condemned homosexuality, often in harsh terms. Francis has
not changed church doctrine that calls homosexual acts sinful, but he
has shown a more merciful approach to people on the margins, including
gays and lesbians.
Francis
DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Catholic gay
rights group, called the Pope's remarks "an immense blessing of
healing."
"No pope has said more welcoming words
to LGBT people than when Pope Francis today offered his recommendation
that the Church -- indeed all Christians -- should apologize for the
harm religious traditions have caused to LGBT people. The pope's
statement was simple, yet powerful, and it fell from his lips so
easily."
As is often the case, the
Pope's press conference encompassed a number of controversial questions.
Here are the Pope's answers about Brexit, former Pope Benedict XVI and
why he used the word "genocide" to describe the murder of more than 1
million Armenians in the early 20th century.
Brexit
"For
me, unity is always superior to conflict, but there are different forms
of unity and also brotherhood. and here I come to the EU -- brotherhood
is better than enmity or distance and bridges are better than walls.
"The
step which the EU has to take to recover the strength of its roots is a
step of creativity and healthy 'separation;' that is, to give more
independence, more freedom to the countries of the EU, to think of
another form of union, to be creative in jobs, in the economy..."
"There
is something that is not working in that unwieldy union, but let's not
throw the baby out with the bathwater, let's try to jump-start things,
to recreate .. today the two key words for the EU are creativity and
fecundity."
Genocide
Pope
Francis said that while Turkey has, "a right to protest," he has always
used the word genocide, since his time in Argentina, and again last
year quoting John Paul II so "it would have sounded very strange," he
said, not to use it again.
"In
Argentina, when you spoke about the extermination of Armenians, one
always used the word genocide. I did not know another word ... When I
came to Rome, I heard the other words, 'The Great Evil' and the Armenian
term which I do not know how to say, and they told me that ... using
'genocide' is offensive, that you have to say something else. I have
also spoken about three genocides of the last century, always three,
first the Armenian, then Hitler, and the last one is Stalin."
"After
I heard the tone of the President's speech and also with my past with
this word, which I uttered last year in St. Peter's publicly, it would
have sounded very strange not to say the same word."
Two Popes?
In
response to a question about whether there are two Popes in the
Vatican, a story which had received headlines recently because of a
comment by Pope Benedict's personal secretary who said that the Pope
Emeritus was part of an "expanded papacy," Francis said, "There is only
one Pope."
"[Benedict] is the Pope Emeritus, the wise grandpa. He is the man who guards my back with his prayers."
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