'The criminalisation of homosexuality is a problem that cannot be ignored,' said Pope Francis, noting that the Catholic Church's book of teachings says same-sex attraction is not a sin but homosexual acts are.
Pope Francis made his remarks in response to a reporter's question aboard the plane returning from a two-country trip to Africa.Pope Francis said on Sunday that laws criminalising LGBT people are a sin and an injustice because God loves and accompanies people with same-sex attraction.
"The criminalisation of homosexuality is a problem that cannot be ignored," said Francis, who then cited unnamed statistics according to which 50 countries criminalise LGBT people "in one way or another" and about 10 others have laws including the death penalty for them.Sixty-six UN member states continue to criminalise consensual same-sex sexual relations, according to data from ILGA World – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.
He noted that the Catholic Church's catechism, or book of teachings, says same-sex attraction is not a sin but homosexual acts are. It also says that LGBT people should not be marginalised.
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