London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Homosexuality Isn't A Crime, Those Criminalising It Are Wrong: Pope Francis

Homosexuality Isn't A Crime, Those Criminalising It Are Wrong: Pope Francis

In an interview published on Wednesday, the pope had said being homosexual was "not a crime ... but it's a sin".
People who criminalise homosexuality are "wrong", Pope Francis said in a letter published on Saturday, seeking to clarify earlier comments about homosexual acts being a "sin".

In an interview published on Wednesday, the pope had said being homosexual was "not a crime ... but it's a sin".

In the letter published on Saturday, which was written to a Jesuit priest, Francis said he had wanted in the interview "to clarify that it (homosexuality) is not a crime, in order to stress that criminalisation is neither good nor just".

"When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin," he wrote.

The pontiff was responding to a letter from US priest James Martin, who asked for clarity on comments the pope made during the interview with the Associated Press news agency.

The issue of homosexuality has caused a major rift in the Catholic Church between modernisers and conservatives.

Francis, 86, has stirred controversy since being appointed pope in 2013 with his relatively liberal attitude towards sexual orientation.

Francis' letter, written in Spanish, was translated into English and published by the website Outreach, a Catholic LGBTQ resource of which Martin is the editor.

"I would tell whoever wants to criminalise homosexuality that they are wrong," the pope wrote.

In the AP interview, Francis had said being homosexual was "not a crime".

"It's not a crime ... but it's a sin," he said, adding: "It's also a sin to lack charity with one another."

In his letter to Martin, Francis said his comments about "sin" were referring to overall moral teaching within the Catholic Church.

"When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin," he wrote.

"Of course, one must also consider the circumstances, which may decrease or eliminate fault."

"As you can see, I was repeating something in general. I should have said 'It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage.'"

The pope's comments on homosexuality came ahead of a trip next week to Africa, where the criminalisation of homosexuality is common.

Francis plans to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan during his six-day visit to the continent.

Although Francis has often received gay people and instructed that they must be given a benevolent reception within the Church, he remains firmly in line with Catholic teaching on marriage.

That defines the union between a man and a woman in order to procreate.

In an earlier letter to Martin in June 2021, Francis thanked the priest for his work in reaching out to LGBTQ people, stressing the inclusive nature of Catholicism and writing that God "loves each of his children".

Months earlier, the Vatican had reaffirmed that it considered homosexuality "a sin" and said gays were unable to receive the sacrament of marriage.
Comments

Brad 3 year ago
The people of the world are believing in mankind's rulership not God's laws.
* It's a crime to God

Jude 1:7
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Leviticus 18:22
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Romans 1:26-27
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×