Pope Francis: Don’t reject gay children, take them to a psychiatrist

Pope Francis has said that families shouldn’t shun their children for being gay, but should seek psychiatric help instead.

The head of the Catholic Church made the comments while travelling back from a visit to Ireland, where LGBT+ rights had been a key dividing issue.

The country’s leader Leo Varadkar called for acceptance of LGBT+ families during the visit [1], following reports that the World Meeting of Families attended by the Pope had blocked participation from Catholic LGBT+ groups and censored depictions of same-sex parents in events literature [2].

Speaking to journalists on the plane back to Rome, the Pope was asked what he would tell a father whose son comes out as gay.

“I would say first of all to pray— then, to not condemn, to talk, to understand, to make space for the son or daughter,” he responded, quoted in Italian newspaper La Stampa [3].

“Then, it depends on the age in which this disquiet: it is one thing if it’s manifested in children, there are many things one can do with a psychiatrist.
“It is another if it’s manifested in your 20s. But I would never say silence is a remedy.

“To ignore a son or daughter with homosexual tendencies [shows] a lack of fatherhood or motherhood.

“I am your father, I am your mother, let’s talk, I will not throw you out of the family.”

Pope Francis has earned a reputation as a moderniser, but critics say he has failed to turn words into actions given the Catholic Church’s poor record on LGBT+ rights globally.

In his speech before the Pope, Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar underlined that Ireland was no longer beholden to Catholic teachings.

He said: “The Ireland of the 21^st Century is a very different place today than it was in the past. Ireland is increasingly diverse.

“One in six of us were not born here, and there are more and more people who adhere to other faiths, or who are comfortable in declaring that they subscribe to no organised religion.

“We have voted in our parliament and by referendum to modernise our laws – understanding that marriages do not always work, that women should make their own decisions, and that families come in many forms including those headed by a grandparent, lone parent or same-sex parents or parents who are divorced.

“Holy Father, I believe that the time has now come for us to build a new relationship between church and State in Ireland – a new covenant for the 21^st Century. It is my hope that your visit marks the opening of a new chapter in the relationship between Ireland and the Catholic Church.

“Building on our intertwined history, and learning from our shared mistakes, it can be one in which religion is no longer at the centre of our society, but in which it still has an important place.”

Nick Duffy

• PinkNews Daily, 27^th August 2018, 10:58 AM:
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/08/27/pope-francis-dont-reject-gay-children-take-them-to-a-psychiatrist/

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 Ireland: Pope Francis met by pro-LGBT demonstrators and rainbow flags in Dublin

Pope Francis has been welcomed to Dublin by pro-LGBT demonstrators during his visit to Ireland.

Thousands of people have turned out to welcome the pontiff, who will embark on a tour of the city and County Mayo over the weekend.

Demonstrators waved rainbow flags and lined up on a bridge holding rainbow umbrellas. Representatives of the LGBT community have been invited to the State welcome for the Pope in Dublin Castle.

It will be the first public statement by Pope Francis in Ireland and will be watched around the world, with many questioning whether he will make reference to the child abuse scandals.

Varadkar plans to tell the Pope that the exclusion of LGBT+ people from the Catholic Church “really hurts.”

He also hopes to tell him that he profoundly disagrees with the church’s terminology that casts LGBT+ people as “intrinsically disordered.” [4]

Varadkar, who is Ireland’s first openly gay Taoiseach, said there is a conflict for LGBT+ Catholics between “who they are and the rules of the faith which they follow.”

He says that he will raise the issue of hurtful language and the exclusion of LGBT+ people with Pope Francis if he has the opportunity.

He made the comments in an interview with Irish state broadcaster RTÉ ahead of Pope Francis’s arrival in Ireland for the World Meeting of Families, a Catholic event which takes place every three years.

Varadkar said that he will enter into his meeting with Pope Francis with a sense of welcome and respect, but added that he will tell him that the Church must admit to its own sins.

Around 100,000 people are expected to welcome the Pope in Dublin on Saturday afternoon as he passes through.

In the evening, he will join pilgrims at a musical festival in the landmark Croke Park Gaelic Athletic Association stadium.

On Sunday the Pope will head to County Mayo to take part in a religious service at a Holy shrine in Knock, before returning to Dublin for the World Meetings of Families event, which is a huge outdoor mass.

Earlier this week, an LGBT+ choir staged a protest outside the event, where they sang “We Are Family” and “Something Inside So Strong” in response to the exclusion of LGBT+ people from the event.

Lydia Smith

• PinkNews, 25^th August 2018, 11:59 AM:
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/08/25/pope-francis-met-by-pro-lgbt-demonstrators-and-rainbow-flags-in-dublin/

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