Pope Francis has said the Roman Catholic
Church owes gay people an apology for the way it has treated them.
On
a flight from Armenia to Rome, the pontiff recalled Christian teaching and
said: "I will repeat what the catechism of the Church says, that
they [gay people] should not be discriminated against, they should be
respected, accompanied pastorally.”
Pope
Francis also told reporters the institution should seek forgiveness from other
groups it had discriminated against.
"I think that the Church not only should
apologise... to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologise to the
poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been
exploited by [being forced to] work. It must apologise for having blessed so many
weapons."
The pope made the
remarks after he was asked if he agreed with statements made by a
senior cardinal, Reinhard Marx, who said the Church must say sorry to
homosexuals
Pope
Francis has been lauded by the gay community, but also criticised by
conservative Roman Catholics, for his tolerance of homosexuality.
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