Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, has stated that parents of gay children should not condemn them and instead offer them support.
The pope’s statement was part of unscripted comments made at his weekly audience in reference to difficulties that parents can face in raising offsprings. These difficulties included “parents who see different sexual orientations in their children and how to handle this, how to accompany their children, and not hide behind an attitude of condemnation,” Francis said.
This is not the first time that the pope tackled this; earlier, he also stated that gays have a right to be accepted by their families as children and siblings.
But the Vatican continues to support the “separate but equal” doctrine – i.e. the Church refuses to accept same-sex marriage/marriage equality, insisting “marriage” is “exclusive” to men and women; but supports civil union laws to giving LGBTQIA partners joint rights in such areas as pensions, health care and inheritance. Beyond pronouncements, however, the Church’s doctrines have yet to be changed to make them more pro-LGBTQIA.
