As cardinals prepare to gather for the conclave to elect a new pope, the Catholic Church faces pivotal questions about its relationship with LGBTQ Catholics. The upcoming papal selection could determine whether the Church continues Pope Francis’s path of greater outreach or reverts to more traditional positions.
Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest who has developed a ministry focused on welcoming gay, lesbian, and transgender people into the Catholic Church, believes significant changes have already taken root during Francis’s papacy. Martin, who served as an advisor to Pope Francis on LGBTQ issues, suggests these changes extend beyond papal declarations to grassroots transformation.
Francis’s Legacy of LGBTQ Outreach
During his papacy, Pope Francis made several notable shifts in the Church’s approach to LGBTQ Catholics. While maintaining traditional Catholic teaching on marriage and sexuality, Francis adopted a more pastoral tone and made gestures of inclusion that represented a departure from his predecessors.
“Francis himself changed the church,” Martin notes, pointing to the pope’s well-known “Who am I to judge?” comment about gay priests and his meetings with LGBTQ Catholics throughout his papacy.
The pope’s approach focused on welcome and accompaniment rather than condemnation, even as the Church maintained its doctrinal positions. This balancing act created space for greater pastoral care while not altering official teaching.
Grassroots Transformation
According to Martin, equally important changes have occurred at the family and parish level. As more Catholics have come out as LGBTQ to their families and faith communities, personal relationships have transformed attitudes within the Church.
“The many LGBTQ Catholics who have come out” have changed the Church from within, Martin explains. This grassroots movement has altered how many parishes approach ministry to LGBTQ members, with some developing specific outreach programs and support groups.
This transformation happens when “parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, friends come to know someone who is LGBTQ,” creating personal connections that challenge previous assumptions and attitudes.
Questions Facing the Next Pope
The next pope will inherit these developments and must decide whether to continue Francis’s approach or chart a different course. Key questions include:
- Will the Church maintain Francis’s more welcoming pastoral approach?
- Can LGBTQ Catholics participate fully in Church life and sacraments?
- How will the Church balance traditional teaching with pastoral care?
- Will official language about LGBTQ persons continue to evolve?
Martin believes the trend toward greater inclusion “will continue” regardless of who becomes the next pope, suggesting the grassroots changes may be more durable than those initiated from the top.
“You can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” Martin suggests, noting that once Catholics have experienced more inclusive approaches, returning to harsher stances becomes difficult for local parishes and families.
The Wider Context of Church Reform
The question of LGBTQ inclusion exists within broader tensions in the Catholic Church between traditionalists who emphasize doctrinal continuity and progressives who seek pastoral adaptations to contemporary realities.
The next pope will need to navigate these tensions while addressing other pressing issues including the ongoing clergy abuse crisis, declining religious participation in Western countries, and the Church’s growth in the Global South.
Martin’s ministry represents one approach to these challenges, focusing on building bridges between the Church and LGBTQ Catholics without explicitly challenging doctrine.
As the cardinals gather to select a new pope, many Catholics on all sides of these issues are watching closely to see whether Francis’s legacy of outreach will continue or whether the Church will move in a different direction.
