In an interview published on Monday, Jan. 29, Pope Francis said he is certain that detractors of his decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples will eventually grasp it, with the exception of Africans, who are a “special case”.
According to Reuters, Pope Francis stated in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa that Africans believe LGBT people are terrible for their culture.
He said that he was certain that, with the exception of Africans, those who opposed his decision to grant blessings for same-sex couples would soon accept it.
Blessings were permitted in December 2023 under a document known as Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust), which has sparked extensive debate in the Catholic Church, with African bishops particularly vocal in their opposition.
“Those who protest vehemently belong to small ideological groups,” Francis told La Stampa, an Italian newspaper. “A special case are Africans: for them homosexuality is something ‘bad’ from a cultural point of view, they don’t tolerate it” .
“But in general, I trust that gradually everyone will be reassured by the spirit of the ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ declaration by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: it aims to include, not divide,” the pontiff went on to say.
Last week, Francis appeared to acknowledge the document’s backlash, particularly in Africa, where bishops have virtually rejected it and same-sex is punishable by imprisonment or even death in some countries.
He stated that when administering blessings, priests should “naturally take into account the context, the sensitivities, the places where one lives, and the most appropriate ways to do it”.
In an interview with La Stampa, Francis stated that he is not concerned about the possibility of conservatives leaving the Catholic Church as a result of his reforms, claiming that speculation of a split is always driven by “small groups.”
“We must leave them to it and move on… and look forward,” he went on to say.