Pope Francis addressed the subject of marginalized groups in several of his sermons. It was particularly concerned about migrants or prisoners, calling without compromise to a change in the vision of society on the situation of these people and their treatment by the governments of the Church and the States, which often exposed it to attacks of individuals and structures involved in conservative values. It was also an important figure for the LGBTQ +community.
'Many reject those he kissed'
Although Pope Francis has not changed as much in the Catholic Church as a lot of people belonging to the LGBTQ +minority, he was the first pope to introduce the possibility of blessing of the same sex couples outside the liturgical ritual. However, this did not mean that the Church accepted the union of homosexual couples.
“Pope Francis, although he has not changed the official teaching of the church towards homosexuals, was the first pope to openly meet the LGBTQ + community,” explains Dariusz of Faith and Rainbow Foundation, an ecumenical group advocating a full acceptance of LGBTQ + people in the church, in an interview with Euronews. “His pontificate has given many people a glimmer of hope – the hope of inclusion, compassion and recognition of their dignity. The inheritance of love and justice that he has left to inspire, even if many praise his grandeur today while rejecting those he welcomed: refugees, LGBTQ + People, people on the sidelines.”
While many in the minority community awaited actions rather than words, some of them appreciate the gestures of the Pope and the symbolism that accompanies them.
“Admittedly, the way in which Francis started his pontificate was significantly different from what we were used to – I mean that he was counting on close and direct contact with people, not only with the distant faithful, but also with people directly from his environment. Also his non -condemning the people LGTBQ + was significant,” explains Peter, a LGBTQ + person. “The statement I had left in my mind was:” Who am I to judge homosexuals “”.
'This is one of the reasons why I left the church “- non-believers on Pope Francis
Although Francis was clear about his opinions, some people point out that no real change was made in the church during his pontificate.
“I liked that at the beginning, he wanted to have his influence on the church, to open more, he wanted to present something more modern. I knew that it was not going to happen, but it was cool that he tried,” explains Pauline, who officially left the Catholic church a few years ago. “This is one of the reasons why I left the Church, because I saw the inconsistency and such hypocrisy, that the Church officially teaches love to your neighbor, and in fact it looks completely different.”
“Francis experienced a strong start,” said Natalia, a non-believer. “He convinced me with his positive approach to atheists, and he did not exclude non-heteronormative people either. I was tempted to think something positively about the CC. Francis was Drancis, familiar, friendly. Everything, unfortunately,` `returned to normal '' after he was confused with the Russian-Ukrainian war.
War in Ukraine a contention apple
The Pope's attitude towards war in Ukraine is one of the most frequently raised questions by non-believers, but also by Christians. The Pope was criticized so as not to condemn the war in Ukraine unequivocally and appoint his attackers, in particular in Poland.
“The fact that he did not unequivocally condemn the war in Ukraine put him in a bad light,” said Paulina. “I had the impression as if he wanted to be an undisputed part in the conflict, and sometimes that is not the case. It seemed to be just starting his trip with diplomacy.”
“His attitude towards the Russian war with Ukraine was ambiguous to say the least, and it is only now that I get information that he tried to support the Ukrainians as much as he could,” explains Piotr.
Many have also criticized Francis for his calls open to compliance with migrants' rights.
“In my opinion, he did not have an important impact on global politics, I rather consider him as a man who had a little bad vision on certain questions and showed rather a turn of the cheek, for example the war in Ukraine, the rise of Islamization in Europe, the persecution of Christians in Africa and Asia”, explains Bartek, a non-close LGBTQ +. “However, he had a good opinion on the management of ecology and climate.
However, it should be noted that it was John Paul II who began interreligious dialogue and was the first to organize joint prayers with representatives of different religions. In his approach, Pope Francis continued the need for a dialogue between Christians and Muslims, saying that it is an obligation if we want to obey the will of God.
'He taught us to listen deeply'
“As a pearl of Buenos Aires and later as a pope, Francis supported the legal recognition of the same -sex unions, seeing this as an expression of the protection of human dignity, although he continued to oppose their assistant to marriage. Pope Francis inspired me and many others in the LGBTQ + community and our allies to be courageous”, explains Darius. “To take the risk of living in the truth about ourselves. More importantly, he has taught us to listen deeply: the more we carefully listen to those who are different from us, the more clearly we see the depth of their faith and their unwavering desire for love and acceptance. This desire is particularly precious because many of them have been rejected – by their own families, by their communities – simply for what they were.”
ADVERTISEMENT“Francis drew my attention,” explains Pauline. “He did not give me hope because I did not believe that his pontificate would change anything, I had no expectations. He was more open at the start of his pontificate.”
Despite the criticisms that fell on François conservative and non-believers, it must be said that he was not afraid to openly criticize the leaders of the great powers. Upon his return from Mexico in 2016, where a wall was built between the United States and Mexico under the Trump administration, Francis said about the current head of the United States that “anyone who wanted to build walls instead of bridges was not a Christian”.
“Whoever deports people who have left their country because of extreme poverty, exploitation or persecution violates their dignity,” he wrote in a letter to us in February 2025.
