Pope Francis said he hopes LGBT people who have been rejected in Catholic Churches know that the negativity is coming from individuals, and not the institution, two Catholic publications are reporting.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church also said recently that the idea of selective admissions for the church is not a valid one.
“Take for example the parable of those invited to the feast: ‘the just, the sinners, the rich and the poor, etc. [Matthew 22:1-15; Luke 14:15-24]. A ‘selective’ church, one of ‘pure blood,’ is not Holy Mother Church, but rather a sect," the Pope wrote in a recent message to a Jesuit priest known for his support and outreach to the LGBT community.
Fr. James Martin, who is active on social media and has a robust following, recently launched an outreach website “to help L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics know that God loves them, that they are at the heart of their church and that they have many gifts to offer the People of God.”
He sent a message to the Pope, asking him several questions that he said he hears most commonly in his ministry.
According to articles in The Vatican (in Italian) and America The Jesuit Review (in English), the Pope responded within days via a handwritten note.
One of the questions was what the Pope would like LGBT people to know about God.
“God is Father and he does not disown any of his children,” Pope Francis responded. “And ‘the style’ of God is ‘closeness, mercy and tenderness.’ Along this path you will find God.”
He added that he would not want LGBT people to feel negative experiences are a response of the Church itself.
“I would have them recognize it not as ‘the rejection of the church,’ but instead of ‘people in the church,’” the pope said in response to a question about what message he would like to give to L.G.B.T. Catholics who have experienced rejection from the church. “The church is a mother and calls together all of her children," the articles say the Pope wrote.
To read the American article, click here.
