The death of Pope Francis, who had been head of the Catholic church since 2013, occurred at 7:35am on Easter Monday, April 21. Recognised as one of the most progressive pontiffs in history, his relationship with the LGBTQ+ community remained somewhat complicated.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, Pope Francis began his papacy on March 13, 2013, after his predecessor’s resignation. An Argentine native, his election made him the first-ever pope of Latin American identity.

 

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Just months into his tenure, he made international headlines by uttering the now-famous quote: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge him?” In 2016, he called for an end to “unjust discrimination” against LGBTQ+ people, but maintained the church’s exclusionary stance on same-sex marriage.

“There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family,” the Pope said.

However, he appeared to backtrack on this in a documentary released in 2020. In the film, he expressed: “Homosexuals have the right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be rejected or marginalised because of it. What we need to work on is a civil union law. They have the right to be protected under the law.”

Additionally, in 2022, he urged parents to stand by their children during difficult times, whether it be because of illness, accidents or struggles with “different sexual orientations”.

The following year, Pope Francis made a number of statements in support of the LGBTQ+ community. In an interview with the Associated Press, he spoke out against the criminalisation of homosexuality, saying that while it is a “sin”, it is not a crime.

“Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them… condemning a person like this is a sin,” he commented.

The same year, Pope Francis approved an official ruling allowing Roman Catholic priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples. The radical change in Vatican policy asserted that people seeking God’s love should not be subjected to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.

However, in 2024, the pontiff called for a ban on surrogacy and made headlines for his repeated use of an anti-gay slur, “frociaggine” (roughly translated to ‘f*ggotry’). In response to the backlash he faced, the Vatican said, “The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologises to those who felt offended by the use of a term reported by others.”

The statement also quoted him as saying, “In the Church there is room for everyone, for everyone! Nobody is useless, nobody is superfluous, there is room for everyone. Just as we are, all of us.”

Earlier this year, in a further step towards inclusion in the church, the Vatican issued new guidelines that allow gay men to train as priests, provided they remain celibate. This marked a departure from Pope Francis’ previous sentiments, when he suggested that they should not be admitted to seminaries due to the risk of “leading a double life”.

With regard to trans inclusion, Pope Francis is also thought to have been more progressive than his predecessors. In 2022, he had three meetings with groups of transgender people who had found shelter in a Catholic church during the Covid-19 pandemic. The following year, he confirmed that trans folk could be baptised and act as godparents.

However, in March 2024, he labelled gender-affirming surgery as “a grave violation of human dignity”.

“We are called to protect our humanity… accepting it and respecting it as it was created,” he said.

LGBTQ+ activists and organisations have been reflecting on Pope Francis’ papacy following his death. Dublin-based community centre Outhouse acknowledged that his tenure “marked a shift towards greater dialogue and openness,” but noted that “deep injustices remain”.

 

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Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Irish Examiner that he “felt more comfortable” going to Mass because of the late Pope’s “attitude to LGBTQ people”. Varadkar met Pope Francis in 2018 when he came to Ireland, remembering: “I really liked him… He met Matt too, which was really nice because I’m not sure how many same-sex heads of government he would have encountered.”

The former Taoiseach did, however, add that the pontiff “could have gone further” on LGBTQ+ issues.

Joe Stanley, Chair of LGBT+ Catholics Westminster Community, praised the Pope in many regards, including for his treatment of the poor, migrants, refugees and those of other religions, as well as his elevation of women to senior positions in the Roman Dicasteries.

Activist Peter Tatchell extended his condolences to Catholics worldwide, adding: “While we often disagreed on issues of LGBT+ rights, I acknowledge his more compassionate tone towards sexual minorities.”

However, he added, “For millions of LGBT+ people globally, the Catholic Church remains a force for discrimination and suffering. Under his leadership, the Vatican continued to oppose same-sex marriage and trans rights. Catholic bishops lobbied against the decriminalisation of homosexuality in many parts of the world. The Vatican still upholds the homophobic edicts of the Catechism, which denounces the sexual expression of same-sex love as a ‘grave depravity’ and ‘intrinsically disordered.’

“Francis’s legacy is, therefore, a mixed one—offering some progress but leaving deep-rooted inequalities largely intact.”

In the wake of the 88-year-old’s passing, many are also urging his successor to go further in ending “the Church’s support for discrimination”.

Following his death, Pope Francis will be laid to rest at St Peter’s Basilica on the morning of Saturday, April 26.