Pope Says He Will Not "Judge" Gays Signals a Sharp Shift in Policy

Pope Says He Will Not "Judge" Gays

Vatican analysts say it is the first time a pope has spoken out in defense of gay priests in the Catholic ministry.

On his way home from Brazil on Monday, Pope Francis told media reps aboard the airplane that he will not judge gays who "search for the Lord and have good will." The CNN Belief Blog wrote today that this signals a shift from his predecessor and offers a sign that the pope is changing the tone—if not teaching—in the Catholic church's stance toward gays and lesbians.

The question from the reporter was originally referring to gay clerics, asking how the pope would respond to a homosexual priest who was gay but not sexually active. Under Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican formally prevented homosexual men from entering the priesthood. But Pope Francis seemed to speak out in defense of gay priests.

"Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?" the pontiff said, speaking in Italian. "You can't marginalize these people."

According to the Wall Street Journal, Vatican analysts say it is the first time a pope has spoken out in defense of gay priests in the Catholic ministry.

"Pope Francis's brief comment on gays reveals great mercy," said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at America, a Catholic magazine based in New York. "Today Pope Francis has, once again, lived out the Gospel message of compassion for everyone," Martin said.

On the 'gay lobby' and homosexualityThe pope addressed the issue of an alleged "gay lobby" within the church. Hints that the Holy See contained a network of gay clergy surfaced last year in reports about a series of embarrassing leaks to Italian journalists.

The "Vatileaks" scandal factored in Benedict's shocking decision to resign this year, according to some church experts, as it impressed upon the 86-year-old pontiff that the modern papacy requires a vigorous and watchful presence.

"There's a lot of talk about the gay lobby, but I've never seen it on the Vatican ID card!" Francis said.

"When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn't be marginalized. The tendency (to homosexuality) is not the problem ... they're our brothers."

The problem, he said was, lobbies that work against the interest of the church 

In 2005, during the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican issued directives barring from the priesthood men "who are actively homosexual, have deep-seated homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called 'gay culture.'"

Francis' brief remarks seem to signal a sharp shift from that policy.

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