Pope Francis wrote a letter to Jesuit priests. In an interview with The Associated Press, James Martin explained his recent comments that “homosexuality is not a crime,” referring to Catholic teaching that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin.
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“I’m just referring to the Catholic moral teaching, which says every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin.”
Pope Francis wrote these words in response to a letter from Father James Martin (SJ), who conducts missionary work in the LGBTQ community in the United States.
The American Jesuit wrote to the Holy Father after a recent interview with The Associated Press.
The pope’s handwritten response in Spanish was posted on Father Martin’s website along with an English translation.
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It’s clear from the context of the interview that the Pope spoke of homosexuality, meaning in this case “homosexual behavior,” not homosexuality per se.
In his letter, Pope Francis reiterated his position on the Catholic catechism, as he stated in his first interview with reporters on a flight back from Brazil in 2013 (“If a person is gay and seeks God and good intentions, who am I to judge?”).
Respond to Fr. With regard to sin, Pope St. Martin emphasized, “it is also necessary to consider the circumstances in which error may be reduced or eliminated.”
“I should have said ‘it is a sin, like any extramarital sex,'” the pope added. “Here the ‘things’ of sin are spoken of, but we are well aware that Catholic morality does not only consider things, but also evaluates liberty and intention; and this, for all kinds of sins.
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Pope Francis went on to reiterate in his letter that homosexuality is not a crime.
“I will tell anyone who wants to criminalize homosexuality, they are wrong,” he wrote. “In a TV interview, where we speak in natural conversational language, understandably there would not be such a precise definition.”
More than 50 countries support the possibility of legal sentences for homosexuals, some even using the death penalty.
The pope concluded his letter by reassuring priests. Martin, praying for him and his work in the LGBTQ community.
“Please do the same for me,” he said.
