Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and leaders of protestant churches in England and Scotland have condemned the criminalization of homosexuality, saying those with “homosexual tendencies” should be welcomed by their churches.
Archbishop Justin Welby and Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly, accompanied the Pope to South Sudan, where they jointly called for peace in the war-torn country.
Speaking to reporters, the Pope said such laws were a sin and “an injustice”.
He added people with “homosexual tendencies” are children of God.
Archbishop Welby and Dr Greenshields praised the Pope’s comments during a news conference with reporters on board the papal plane as they travelled from Juba to Rome.
“I entirely agree with every word he said there,” said Archbishop Welby, noting that the Anglican church had its own internal divisions over gay rights.
Last month the Church of England said it would refuse to allow same-sex couples to be married in its churches.
Expressing his support, Dr Greenshields referred to the Bible, saying: “There is nowhere in the four Gospels that I see anything other than Jesus expressing love to whoever he meets, and as Christians that is the only expression that we can give to any human being in any circumstance”.
During the press conference, Pope Francis reiterated the Catholic Church’s position that same-sex sacramental marriage is not permitted.
But he said he supported so-called civil union legislation, and stressed that laws banning homosexuality were “a problem that cannot be ignored”.
He claimed that 50 countries criminalize LGBT people “in some way or another,” with about ten having death penalty laws.
According to ILGA World, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, 66 UN member states currently criminalize consensual same-sex relationships.
“This is not right. Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God,” said the Pope.
“God loves them. God accompanies them… condemning a person like this is a sin.”