Boston Herald

Pope, Anglican, Presbyteri­an leaders denounce anti-gay laws

- By Associated Press

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE >> Pope Francis, the head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyteri­an minister together denounced the criminaliz­ation of homosexual­ity on Sunday and said gay people should be welcomed by their churches.

The three Christian leaders spoke out on LGBTQ rights during an unpreceden­ted joint airborne news conference returning home from South Sudan, where they took part in a three-day ecumenical pilgrimage to try to nudge the young country’s peace process forward.

They were asked about Francis’ recent comments to The Associated Press, in which he declared that laws that criminaliz­e gay people were “unjust” and that “being homosexual is not a crime.”

South Sudan is one of 67 countries that criminaliz­es homosexual­ity, 11 of them with the death penalty. LGBTQ advocates say even where such laws are not applied, they contribute to a climate of harassment, discrimina­tion and violence.

Francis referred his Jan. 24 comments to the AP and repeated that such laws are “unjust.” He also repeated previous comments that parents should never throw their gay children out of the house.

“To condemn someone like this is a sin,” he said. “Criminaliz­ing people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice.”

“People with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God Loves them. God accompanie­s them,” he added.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, recalled that LGBTQ rights were very much on the current agenda of the Church of England, and said he would quote the pope’s own words when the issue is discussed at the church’s upcoming General Synod.

“I wish I had spoken as eloquently and clearly as the pope. I entirely agree with every word he said,” Welby said.

Recently, the Church of England decided to allow blessings for same-sex civil marriages but said same-sex couples could not marry in its churches. The Vatican forbids both gay marriage and blessings for same-sex unions.

Welby told reporters that the issue of criminaliz­ation had been taken up at two previous Lambeth Conference­s of the broader Anglican Communion, which includes churches in Africa and the Middle East where such anti-gay laws are most common and often enjoy support by conservati­ve bishops.

 ?? TIZIANA FABI/POOL PHOTO VIA AP ?? The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, right, Pope Francis,left, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshiel­ds meet the journalist­s during an airborne press conference aboard the airplane directed to Rome, at the end of his pastoral visit to Congo and South Sudan, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023.
TIZIANA FABI/POOL PHOTO VIA AP The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, right, Pope Francis,left, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshiel­ds meet the journalist­s during an airborne press conference aboard the airplane directed to Rome, at the end of his pastoral visit to Congo and South Sudan, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023.

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