Pope Francis joins Anglican and Presbyterian leaders in condemning anti-LGBT laws

ON BOARD THE PAPAL PLANE – Pope Francis, the head of the Anglican Communion and the chief Presbyterian minister together condemned the criminalization of homosexuality on Sunday and said that gays should be welcomed by their churches.

Three Christian leaders spoke out about LGBTQ rights during an unprecedented joint aerial press conference after returning home from South Sudan, where they took part in a three-day ecumenical pilgrimage to try to push forward the peace process in the young country.

They were asked about Francis. latest comments Associated Pressin which he stated that laws criminalizing gays are “unfair” and that “it is not a crime to be homosexual”.

South Sudan is one of 67 countries that criminalize homosexuality, 11 of which carry the death penalty. LGBTQ advocates say that even where such laws are not enforced, they create an atmosphere of harassment, discrimination and violence.

Francis referred to his January 24 AP comments and reiterated that such laws are “unfair.” He also echoed previous comments that parents should never kick their gay children out of the house.

“To condemn someone like that is a sin,” he said. “The criminalization of people with homosexual inclinations is an injustice.”

“People with homosexual inclinations are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them,” he added.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby recalled that LGBTQ rights are very important on the Church of England’s current agenda and said he would quote the Pope’s own words when the issue is discussed at the church’s upcoming General Synod.

“I wish I could speak as eloquently and clearly as dad. I fully agree with every word he says,” Welby said.

Recently, the Church of England decided to allow same-sex civil marriages, but stated that same-sex couples cannot marry in its churches. The Vatican bans both same-sex marriages and blessings on same-sex unions.

Welby told reporters that the issue of criminalization had been raised at two previous Lambeth Conferences of the wider Anglican Communion, which includes churches in Africa and the Middle East, where such anti-gay laws are most common and often supported by conservative bishops.

The wider Lambeth Conference twice opposed criminalization. “But it didn’t really change a lot of people’s minds,” Welby said.

RT. The Rev. Ian Greenshields, Presbyterian moderator for the Church of Scotland, who also participated in the pilgrimage and press conference, made his observation.

“In my reading of the four gospels, I don’t see Jesus rejecting anyone anywhere,” he said. “Nowhere in the four Gospels do I see anything other than an expression of Jesus’ love for everyone he meets.

“And as Christians, that’s the only expression we can give to any person under any circumstances.”

The Church of Scotland allows same-sex marriages. Catholic teaching maintains that gays should be treated with dignity and respect, but homosexual acts are “intrinsically promiscuous”.

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