Sudan: Pope Francis and the leaders of protestant churches in England and Scotland have denounced the criminalisation of homosexuality.
During his return journey from South Sudan, the Pope remarked that such laws were a sin and “an injustice.”
“This is not right. Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them. Condemning a person like this is a sin,” the Pope shared.
The Pope’s comments were backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Dr. Iian Greenshields, Moderator of the Church of Scotland.
“I entirely agree with every word he said there,” Archbishop Justin Welby commented, stressing that the Anglican church had its own internal divisions over gay rights.
Referring to the Bible, Dr. Greenshields expressed his support by stating that “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.”
Archbishop Welby and Dr. Greenshields travelled with the Pope to South Sudan, where they jointly called for peace. It is the first time the leaders of the three traditions have come together for such a journey in 500 years.
During the news conference, Pope Francis repeated his point of view that the Catholic Church cannot permit sacramental marriage for same-sex couples.
Furthermore, the Pope remarked that he supported so-called “civil union” legislation and stressed that laws banning homosexuality were “a problem that cannot be ignored.”
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