On Feb. 5, Pope Francis—along with the head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyterian minister—denounced the criminalization of homosexuality and said churches should welcome gay people, Time reported.
The three religious leaders spoke on LGBTQ+ rights during an unprecedented joint airborne news conference while returning home from the African country of South Sudan—one of 67 countries that consider same-sex relations illegal.
They were asked about the pontiff's recent comments to The Associated Press, in which he declared that laws that criminalize gay people were "unjust" and that "being homosexual is not a crime." "To condemn someone like this is a sin," the pope told reporters. "Criminalizing people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice."
The Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, the Presbyterian moderator of the Church of Scotland, said, "There is nowhere in my reading of the four Gospels where I see Jesus turning anyone away." The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, added, "I wish I had spoken as eloquently and clearly as the pope. I entirely agree with every word he said."
The Time article is at time.com/6253077/pope-francis-anti-gay-laws/ .
