Pope Francis Tells Gay Man: “You Are Gay and That Does Not Matter”

An openly gay man, who is a survivor of clerical sexual abuse said that Pope Francis told him that God made him gay, no matter his sexuality, according to The Guardian.

Related | Pope Francis: Christians Should Apologize to the Gays

Juan Carlos Cruz spoke with the pope a few weeks ago about abuse he suffered from the Chilean priest, Fernando Karadima. He said that his sexuality came up because some of the Latin American country's bishops were trying to portray him as a pervert and claimed he was lying about the abuse.

But Cruz mentioned Pope Francis said:

"Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like this and loves you like this and I don't care. The pope loves you like this. You have to be happy with who you are."

Pope Francis has certainly been more tolerant towards LGBTQ+ people than his predecessors--you may remember when he said that Christians should apologize to the gays--but there's still a long way to go, like when he called transgender people an "annihilation of man."

Note that Karadima, now 87, was found guilty by the Vatican of sexually assaulting children in 2011.