Gay Man Says Pope Francis Told Him His Sexuality ‘Does Not Matter’ to God: He ‘Loves You Like That’

In Pope Francis’ latest display of progressive religious views, a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest says His Holiness told him that it “does not matter” to God that he is gay.

Juan Carlos Cruz, the gay survivor who was abused by a Chilean priest as a child, recently spent several days at the Vatican with Pope Francis in April. During their meetings, Cruz said the Pope addressed homosexuality, which has been traditionally deemed as a sinful practice in the Catholic church.

When describing what Pope Francis said to him, Cruz told CNN the following: “You know Juan Carlos, that does not matter. God made you like this. God loves you like this. The Pope loves you like this and you should love yourself and not worry about what people say.”

While the Pope’s comments on homosexuality appear to be at odds the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church — which, in a 1986 letter claimed that gay acts are “objectively disordered” — the Vatican did not respond to the exchange, telling CNN, “We do not normally comment on the Pope’s private conversations.”

Cruz and the Pope’s meeting was part of a three-day Vatican summit on sexual abuse within the faith, specially among the Chilean Catholic community. The summit relates back to the Church’s infamous scandal relating to the abuse of young people by Catholic leaders that spanned the globe and went on for decades without much exposure, until the Boston Globe began reporting on the widespread misconduct in 2002.

[images via screengrab]

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