Pope Francis, who died Monday at age 88, is being remembered as a surprising ally to the LGBTQ Catholic community, a church leader who encouraged candid dialogue and who placed an emphasis on mercy toward those living on the margins of the church.
Yunuen Trujillo, a lay minister and author of L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics: A Guide to Inclusive Ministry, said that Francis’ welcoming gestures to the LGBTQ Catholic community encouraged others to act boldly.
“Everything that Pope Francis has tried to do, it’s been a breath of fresh air; it has opened doors to allow many of us to talk about these issues more publicly,” she told Outreach.
Other leaders in LGBTQ Catholic ministry also remembered Francis fondly on Monday.
“Thank you, Pope Francis, for your kindness to me, for your kindness to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters and for your kindness to millions of people around the world,” wrote Outreach founder Father James Martin, S.J.
Christopher Vella, co-chair of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, said in a statement, “Our Pope left us a great legacy that was itself quite unexpected.” Mr. Vella continued, “Very few expected to see him as Pope. Very few expected some of the most powerful changes he initiated in the Church—a sense of renewal and a re-living of the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.”
The head of DignityUSA said that she hoped Francis would have a lasting impact on the church.
“We honor Pope Francis’ faithful and compassionate leadership and service to our church and the world,” said Meli Barber, president of DignityUSA. “His pastoral approach, concern for the planet, and strong commitment to the Gospel will have lasting impacts on our church and the world.”
And the head of New Ways Ministry, another Catholic LGBTQ group, linked the pope’s ministry to the vision set forth by the Second Vatican Council.
“Pope Francis has been a gift to the church and to the LGBTQ+ community,” wrote Francis DeBernardo.
“For many years, we have prayed to God for such a leader to continue the work of Vatican II,” Mr. DeBernardo continued. “We have not been disappointed, but have been blessed by the message of his words and deeds.”
Several church leaders who have supported the pope’s broader efforts to make the church more welcoming expressed gratitude on Monday for his ministry.
Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., said in an interview with the U.K. Catholic publication The Tablet that he would remember the pope’s “profound desire to make everybody seem welcome,” while the archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, said that he hoped Francis’ legacy would be seen in how Catholics treat their neighbors.
“The finest memorial we can offer is to re-form our hearts as Pope Francis asked,” Cardinal Cupich said in a statement, “to see our brothers and sisters, to listen to them and to offer our prayers and actions that all may experience the fullness of God’s promise.”
Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, praised Francis’ pastoral vision and his focus on mercy.
“Pope Francis enshrined the mercy of God at the heart of his proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Cardinal McElroy said in a statement. “In doing so, he illuminated with new depth the pastoral dimension of the Church’s mission, which is rooted first in embracing love rather than in judgment.”
A statement from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about two-thirds of the Catholic sisters in the United States, praised Francis for listening to voices on the margins.
“He embodied the values that he held throughout his priesthood: that people who are hurting and in need must be given our highest priority,” the group said, “that leaders must spend time on the margins listening to those whose perspectives may differ from their own, and that we must be fearless in speaking out in the face of all that goes against gospel teachings.”
Theologians are also remembering Pope Francis, including a prominent gay scholar who said that the late pope created room for difficult conversations.
“Pope Francis’s gift to the wider Church has also been his gift to theologians—encouragement to disagree, to bring our whole selves to conversations, synodal or otherwise, and to lean into the uneasiness that such authentic encounters brings,” Craig A. Ford, Jr., an assistant professor of theology and religious studies at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, told Outreach. “The particular significance that this posture has for LGBTQ+ theologians should not be overlooked.”
