July 29, 2013 – Pope Francis disembarks from the plane after landing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at Ciampino’s military airport, on the outskirts of Rome. (AP)
ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRCRAFT (AP) – Pope Francis reached out to gays on Monday, saying he wouldn’t judge priests for their sexual orientation in a remarkably open and wide-ranging news conference as he returned from his first foreign trip.
“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Francis asked.
His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, signed a document in 2005 that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests. Francis was much more conciliatory, saying gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten.
Francis’ remarks came Monday during a plane journey back to the Vatican from his first foreign trip in Brazil.
He was funny and candid during a news conference that lasted almost an hour and a half. He didn’t dodge a single question, even thanking the journalist who raised allegations reported by an Italian newsmagazine that one of his trusted monsignors was involved in a scandalous gay tryst.
Francis said he investigated and found nothing to back up the allegations.
Francis was asked about Italian media reports suggesting that a group within the church tried to blackmail fellow church officials with evidence of their homosexual activities. Italian media reported this year that the allegations contributed to Benedict’s decision to resign.
While stressing Catholic social teaching that calls for homosexuals to be treated with dignity and not marginalized, Francis said it was something else entirely to conspire to use private information for blackmail or to exert pressure.
Francis was responding to reports that a trusted aide was involved in an alleged gay tryst a decade ago. He said he investigated the allegations according to canon law and found nothing to back them up. But he took journalists to task for reporting on the matter, saying the allegations concerned matters of sin, not crimes like sexually abusing children.
And when someone sins and confesses, he said, God not only forgives but forgets.
“We don’t have the right to not forget,” he said.
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Lyn Leahz 
Yes if a homosexual repents, and TURNS AWAY FROM it, then yes he is forgiven, but if he repents and does not turn away, hes not forgiven.. Go and sin no more!
Hello all, I hope and pray that God Blesses you!
I am writing this in response to an email I received regarding what the Pope has stated. I think we need more clarity on what he actually means. Is he trying to be more “tolerant” and accepting of everyone, no matter what they do? Or is he saying that if a homosexual repents, then why should he judge them? It is not quite so clear in this article. Maybe he is paving the way for increased tolerance in the church? I am not sure. Here is my response to the email with the person’s name edited out:
Thank you ************ for your comment.
I too, do not agree with many of the Catholic Churches teachings. I also don’t know if we have all of the information, or how correct the information is in these articles.
With that being said, If the Pope stated as the article says: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Well then, yes, I think he is wrong. If someone confesses to be gay, then it presupposes that he/she is in a homosexual relationship. If he/she says that they have homosexual thoughts, that is another matter. They can ignore the thoughts and repent. Only God knows their hearts.
Just as you or I may have lustful thoughts of women, we need to push away those thoughts and ask God to forgive us. We must not act out these thoughts in our mind or body. For both are sins.
However, if he said that a person who is gay, stops having gay relationships both in mind/body and repents of his/her sin. Then no, I do not see any reason why they would not be forgiven. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin is sin. Lying, cheating,stealing,sexual immorality are all sin, one not greater than the other.
Just my thoughts and beliefs. I love all people, regardless of their orientation. I am just trying to bring them to salvation.
God Bless! Have a great day.
This is the kind of response I expect from Twitter Pope! All Pope no Bible!
Reblogged this on shaynroby and commented:
Shayn Roby’s Take: If Pope Francis is quoting scripture, the Word of God condemns the acts committed by homosexuals, just as condemns sexual relations between people of the opposite gender who are not married.
That’s right. And for someone who wants to stand in the midst of the people as a “God” (“…having a form of godliness yet denying its power…”) he should surely quote truth from the Bible… yet he wants to be politically correct.. and, since much of the papacy are homosexual, go figure.
You cannot serve two masters…. Sorry Pope. Matthew 6:24