By Jon Campbell , Christian Post Contributor
Pope Francis has spoken openly about the issue of homosexuality on Monday, saying that he would not judge priests for their sexual orientation.
“If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?” the pope said at an 80-minute news conference with reporters on his plane as he returned from his recent trip to Brazil.
(Photo: Reuters/Luca Zennaro)Pope Francis listens to a journalist’s question as he flies back to Rome following his visit to Brazil July 29, 2013. Pope Francis, in some of the most conciliatory words from any pontiff on gays, said they should not be judged or marginalized for their orientation and should be integrated into society, but he reaffirmed Church teaching that homosexual acts are a sin. In a broad-ranging 80-minute conversation with journalists on the plane bringing him back from a week-long visit to Brazil, Francis also said the Roman Catholic Church’s ban on women priests was definitive, although he would like them to have more leadership roles in administration and pastoral activities.
