When it comes to Pope Francis there are those who love him, and those don’t care. You’re probably Catholic if you love him, but I’ve heard several in the queer community gush about how inclusive he is. It does seem to be that he has softened the stance of previous popes on the subject of gays and lesbians on the surface… except he hasn’t. Barbie Latza Nadeau from The Daily Beast reports that Francis is sending mixed messages about the extent to which he is willing to tolerate gay men and nuns in the clergy. L ately father dearest has been embroiled in some tea that makes you wonder, “is Catholicism really changing, or is it more of the same fuckery as always?”



When Francis was asked about a gay priest in 2013, he replied with a question, “Who am I to judge?” Okay, I can get down with that. Catholics have this whole “accept queers or not” dilemma and it’s mostly, at the center of it, a question of civility. Civility is best engendered when all sides come to the table understanding that we’re all human, we’re all equal, we can all stink up a bathroom. At the time, the Pope’s expression of civility toward gays was fabulous, honey. I mean, I was like “about time…damn!” but for an organization rooted in tradition, it’s a step forward.

Will the Real Pope Francis Stand Up



Latza writes that since his kind remarks, Francis has been backflipping trying to distance himself from the statements. He’s been dogged with questions from the more conservative arm of his organization. Like a seasoned politician, he says what they want to hear. He’s now “very worried” about queers in the church, but he’s mostly upset because priests are having butt-sex in the cloisters. Fernando Prado, the missionary interviewing The Pope, then zeroed in on gays in the priesthood. What followed was laughable. After being asked about the “high percentage” of priests who practice homosexuality, Francis indicated that the seminaries need to use “the experience the church has…(for)discernment.” In other words, they need to sniff out the cock-lovers based on outward appearances. That’s worked for them before.

There is so much that is wrong with that answer.

He goes on to suggest that it’s become trendy to be a gay man. Francis also recounted a meeting with a Bishop who came to report that there are openly gay priests in his parish and that maybe they should just let them be. Francis replied that the suggestion was “a mistake,” further explaining that practicing homosexual women and men have no place in the priesthood. It’s celibacy….or else.

How Many Faces Does It Take to Be Pope?



What Francis just showed is that he does deem himself a worthy, higher judge of how visible queers should be in Catholicism. The “who am I to judge,” Francis appears when talking to lay people, but when the setting changes to conservative religious media, it’s No-homo No-Way bro. Well, I’m here to say that Francis can’t have it both ways. You can’t piss on the queers in one sitting, and then offer not to judge us the next. But Francis has a habit of feigning compassion with one face, and then staunchly defending dogma the next. Just take a look at how he dealt with the recent revelations of child sex abuse. He didn’t because he refused to comment on the matter. For a spiritual leader, he sure does act like damned-bitch.

A Troubling Trend

This troubling trend of spiritual harassment of queer populations has always been with us. Transgender Muslims, for example, are denied the holiest rite of Islam, the Haaj. Let’s not get it twisted, exclusion leads to subjugation. If you can control where a minority thrives, you can control how the majority sees them. History has shown that this is never a wise or civilized way to treat anyone.