Peru’s LGBTQ activists give Pope Leo a thumbs up; others are wary
‘A courageous figure willing to listen when others remained silent’
Most LGBTQ rights activists in the Global South have adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward Leo XIV, the new Pope. But activists in Peru, where he served as a bishop for many years, are optimistic that he will at least match Pope Francis’s record of loving acceptance of LGBTQ people, even though Francis made no radical change in church doctrine.
Esteban Rioseco reported in The Washington Blade:
“For LGBTQ leaders and activists in [Peru], Leo represents a figure who, while unlikely to overhaul church doctrine, could signal a shift towards a less hostile and more open Catholic Church.
“ The fact that the new pope lived and served pastorally in Peru is no small thing,’ said George Hale, director of Promsex, an advocacy group that is based in Lima, the Peruvian capital. “Leo XIV is deeply familiar with inequality, abuses of power, popular religiosity, and the pain of a society scarred by classism and exclusion. His support for victims of [a church sexual-abuse scandal] showed a courageous figure willing to listen when others remained silent.” …
“ ‘Sometimes, even just a change in tone makes a difference,’ ” [openly gay former Congressman Alberto] De Belaunde noted. ‘I grew up under the influence of Pope John Paul II and Bishop Cipriani, both known for confrontational rhetoric. When the pope [Francis] says things like “Who am I to judge?” — it doesn’t change doctrine, but it humanizes the discourse. And that matters.’ ”
The Irish Star reported, “While we don’t know much yet – the LGBTQ+ community is waiting to hear if the new pope will be as friendly [as Pope Francis].
During Leo’s remarks on May 8 immediately after his election was announced, he said the Church should be a missionary institution, “always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love.”
The new pope has not spoken directly about LGBTQ rights issues since assuming the leadership of the worldwide Catholic Church. That leaves observers delving into his past statements and actions in hopes of discerning what he is likely to do in the future.
Criticism of ‘homosexual lifestyle’
Yahoo News reported: In speaking to bishops in 2012, he criticized Western news media for cultivating “sympathy” at odds with gospel including “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”
It’s unclear if his views have changed since. He has not fully endorsed nor opposed a document that would bless same-sex unions in the church. That said, he had supported Pope Francis’ general aim to make the church more inclusive.
Cautious optimism
The pro-democracy news site Meidas News reported: For LGBTQ Catholics and other reform-minded believers, there is cautious optimism. Many hope Leo XIV may bring a warmer, more embracing approach—though within clear doctrinal boundaries. While he may foster a more welcoming environment, he has not signaled any openness to changing Church teaching on same-sex marriage or the ordination of women.
Departure from Francis’s position
In October 2023, a letter by Francis in support of the blessings of same-sex unions on a case-by-case basis was made public. “We cannot be judges who only deny, push back and exclude,” Francis wrote to a group of conservative cardinals. “As such, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or several people, that do not convey a wrong idea of a matrimony. Because when one seeks a blessing, one is requesting help from God.”
Leo’s stance on LGBTQ+ Catholics marks a departure from the late pontiff, according to the College of Cardinals report. In October 2024, Prevost voiced the need for greater conversations between each “episcopal conference” to discuss the blessings and apply them in a way that aligned with cultural differences across the globe as some countries still criminalize homsexuality.
“The bishops in the episcopal conferences of Africa were basically saying, that here in Africa, our whole cultural reality is very different … it wasn’t rejecting the teaching authority of Rome, it was saying that our cultural situation is such that the application of this document is just not going to work,” Prevost reportedly said. “You have to remember there are still places in Africa that apply the death penalty, for example, for people who are living in a homosexual relationship … So, we’re in very different worlds.”
In a report assessing his opinions regarding queer couples, The New York Times cited a 2012 statement from Leo in which he expressed dismay at the way media and pop culture expressed “sympathy for beliefs and practices that contradict the gospel.”
Francis was openly critical of laws criminalizing LGBTQ+ people, calling them “unjust,” and was generally seen as a supporter of greater inclusion in the Church.
Questions about his support for LGBTQ+ rights
While he honored Francis, there are some questions about his support of LGBTQ+ rights. Francis made several pro-LGBTQ+ reforms during his papacy. But the new pope has made some anti-LGBTQ+ statements. In 2012, at a meeting of bishops, “he lamented that Western news media and popular culture fostered ‘sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,’” The New York Times reports. He specifically mentioned the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.” As bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, he objected to a plan to teach about gender in schools, saying, “The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist.” …
LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD said it looked forward to working with Leo. The group had previously met with Francis to discuss LGBTQ+ rights.
“The Roman Catholic Church stands on the threshold of a hopeful and inclusive new chapter. With Pope Leo XIV’s leadership, there is an extraordinary opportunity to inspire billions around the world and further embrace LGBTQ people with compassion, dignity, and love,” GLAAD’s CEO and president Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement provided to The Advocate. “He can build on the progress already made and help create a Church that truly reflects the universal message of acceptance and care for all. We are hopeful to collaborate with Pope Leo, just as we did with Pope Francis, to help ensure the Church continues to grow as a welcoming home for everyone.”
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which works for LGBTQ+ equality in the Catholic Church, released a statement saying it was “disappointing” to hear of the new pope’s 2012 anti-LGBTQ+ comment. “We pray that in the 13 years that have passed, 12 of which were under the papacy of Pope Francis, that his heart and mind have developed more progressively on LGBTQ+ issues, and we will take a wait-and-see attitude to see if that has happened,” DeBernardo added.
“We pray that as our church transitions from 12 years of an historic papacy, Pope Leo XIV will continue the welcome and outreach to LGBTQ+ people which Pope Francis inaugurated,” he continued. “The healing that began with Who am I to judge? needs to continue and grow to ‘Who am I, if not a friend to LGBTQ+ people?'”
DignityUSA, another LGBTQ+ Catholic group, issued a press release saying in part, “We note that this [2012] statement was made during the papacy of Benedict XVI, when doctrinal adherence appeared to be expected. In addition, the voices of LGBTQ people were rarely heard at that level of church leadership. We pray that Pope Leo XIV will demonstrate a willingness to listen and grow as he begins his new role as the leader of the global Church.”
