ROME – As the church grapples with how various ‘hot-button’ topics such as women and LGBTQ issues with be dealt with in a post-Pope Francis era, one prominent priest and advocate has said that, at least in terms of the latter, the approach from the top will remain the same.

Speaking to Crux following a private Sept. 1 audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Jesuit Father James Martin said the pontiff, who has been in office nearly four months, “told me that he would continue the legacy of Pope Francis regarding LGBTQ people, which is a stance of openness and welcome.”

Though he never changed church teaching, and while he was once sharply criticized for using an anti-gay slur, twice, Pope Francis gained a reputation as a friend of the LGBTQ community for his insistence on welcome and inclusion.

The Argentine pontiff frequently stressed the need to be open to LGBTQ Catholics, and he occasionally met with homosexual individuals and advocacy groups. Francis also had several private meetings with Martin throughout his papacy, and would send letters of support for major events or conferences that Martin was organizing or participating in.

Most recently, the issue of LGBTQ inclusion was a source of fierce debate during Pope Francis’s 2021-2024 Synod of Bishops on Synodality, which emphasized the need for a more welcoming and inclusive church, and allowed participants to discuss contentious issues such as the church’s approach LGBTQ individuals, among other things.

Debate on this point was so divisive among synod participants that it ultimately ended up being removed almost entirely from the preparatory document for the final synod gathering in October 2024, as well as that meeting’s final summary document.

The lack of consensus on the LGBTQ issue among the church’s global pastors demonstrated what a difficult and inflammatory issue it can be, especially for the church in culturally conservative countries in Africa, Asia and much of the Pacific, where the topic of homosexuality is frequently still a taboo.

Given the synod’s apparent inability to come to any sort of consensus about the issue, there is still a long way to go for the church and its pastors in figuring out how to handle the topic.

However, Martin said that Pope Leo’s stated intention to continue Francis’s approach to the LGBTQ community “fits into his desire for synodality, which is all about listening and welcome and inclusion.”

Martin described Pope Leo as being “very relaxed, even more relaxed and serene than he was in the synod,” saying he found the conversation with Leo to be “very helpful” and “very hopeful.”

Martin is currently in Rome as part of a pilgrimage made by the pro-LGBTQ group La Tenda di Gionata and other LGBTQ organizations from around the world. The pilgrimage will culminate with a special Mass presided over by the vice president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, a prayer service and a procession to St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s Sunday Angelus address.

His meeting with the pope also came amid buzz about the participation of LGBTQ+ groups in jubilee events in October.

 

Last month eyebrows raised when LGBTQ publication Them magazine published a report saying Leo XIV planned to meet with the pro-LGBTQ+ group We Are Church, which is a coalition of various Catholic reform groups.

However, We Are Church immediately debunked the rumor by putting out a press release in which they clarified that they would participate in jubilee activities, but they would not have a private audience with the pope.

“We Are Church International wish to make it clear that we have not been invited to meet with Pope Leo XIV in October as reported in some media,” the organization said, saying they applied participate in activities for the Oct. 24-26 Jubilee of the Synod Teams along with other organizations.

The organization said that their registration was accepted upon submission, which in their view marked “a positive sign that confirms the Church is listening to everyone.”

“Along with many hundreds of delegates from around the world we look forward to hearing Pope Leo XIV deliver his address. But we are clear that no special meeting will take place with the pope and our group,” they said.

Several members of We Are Church will walk through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica along with other participants in the jubilee event, which is primarily intended for members of official diocesan, eparchial, national ecclesial groups or so-called “groupings of Churches” such as presbyteral and pastoral councils.

This will mark the first time that members of We Are Church – which advocates for gender equality in the Catholic Church, optional priestly celibacy and a change in church teaching on sexual morality – will participate in a Vatican event in a formal capacity.

Since the organization does not belong to a formal church affiliated group, their participation required a written statement of approval from their bishop or episcopal conference.

Participants in the Jubilee of the Synod Teams will participate in full program of events that will conclude with a general meeting with Pope Leo XIV.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen