On September 16, Pope Francis spoke briefly with Mara Grassi, one of the leaders of the LGBT + Christian association Tenda di Gionata.
Following a general audience on Wednesday, September 16, Pope Francis spoke with some 40 parents of LGBT + children from the Tenda di Gionata association. The latter, founded in 2018 on the initiative of Don David Esposito, a now deceased priest, wishes to expand Christian communities to include homosexual people and offer them hospitality and support within the Church.
The pontiff then spoke with Mara Grassi, one of the leaders of the association. This mother spoke of her 40 year old son who "left the Church because he did not feel welcomed"because of his homosexuality. Pope Francis then told him that"the Church loves your children as they are, because they are all children of God, and the Church must also love them as they are ", according to several Italian newspapers, relayed by La Croix.
In an article in La Repubblica, the activist added: "I wanted to tell the Pope that what we have understood is that the Church needs to make sure that many other parents like me understand this, so that they do not suffer as I have suffered. "
"I explained (to the Pope) that we consider ourselves lucky because we have been forced to change the way we have always looked at our children. This new look that allowed us to see the beauty and love of God in them.", she assured on the site of the media avvenire.
As a strong symbol, the members of the association also gave Pope Francis a rainbow-colored t-shirt with this message: "There is no fear in love" (1 Jn 4 , 18). As well as a book, translated into Spanish for the occasion, recounting the difficult journey of these families.
Contradictions
Pope Francis in the past has had ambiguous positions on homosexuality. In a press conference given on the plane in August 2018, which brought him back from Ireland after a visit concerning the subject of child abuse in the clergy, Pope Francis said on homosexuality: "When it manifests itself in childhood, there are a lot of things for psychiatry to do, to see how things are." A suggestion that had caused controversy.
Yet on BBC, on April 19, Pope Francis gave a speech of openness and tolerance during a renounce with openly homosexual British comedian Stephen K. Amos. "No matter who you are or how you live, you don't lose your dignity, he told her. Some people prefer to reject people because of the adjective (gay, editor's note): they have no human heart, "he said.