Four months after his election, Pope Leo XIV
has signaled a more cautious approach than his outspoken predecessor, Pope
Francis, saying Church doctrine on sexuality and marriage is unlikely to change
“in the near future.”
In a new book, Pope Leo XIV: Global Citizen,
Missionary of the 21st Century, published Thursday in Peru, the US-born
pontiff acknowledged that “people want the Church doctrine to change,” but
stressed that “attitudes must change before we even think about changing what
the Church says.”
Leo said he shared Francis’s desire to welcome
everyone into the Church, but clarified: “I don’t invite a person in because
they are or are not of any specific identity.” He emphasized support for “the
traditional family — father, mother, and children,” while describing LGBTQ
issues as “highly polarizing.”
The pope recently received US priest James Martin, a
leading advocate for homosexual Catholics, but did not publicly address the
1,400 LGBTQ+ pilgrims who visited the Vatican.
On the question of women deacons, a reform
encouraged under Francis, Leo said he currently had no intention to alter
Church teaching, though he was “willing to continue to listen.”
Turning to the clerical sexual abuse scandal,
Leo called it “a real crisis” but insisted priests accused of abuse remain
“innocent until proven guilty,” adding that the Church must not make the issue
its sole focus.
Reflecting on his papacy, the 70-year-old pontiff
admitted the role was “24 hours a day, basically, and so public.” He said
financial governance did not trouble him, given his background in the field,
but expressed concern about growing inequality, citing news that Elon Musk
could soon become the world’s first trillionaire: “If that is the only thing
that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”
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