Pope Francis visits Korea in 2014. | Photo: Republic of Korea / Flickr
Pope Francis told a gay man that God made him ‘like this’ and loves him unconditionally.
According to the gay man, Juan Carlos Cruz, who spoke privately with Pope Francis last week, God doesn’t ‘care’ he’s gay.
Cruz told Spanish newspaper El País that the Pope 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 is yet to confirm his comments publicly. But a prominent adviser to the Pope, James Martin, tweeted the story yesterday (19 May).
How did the meeting come about?
The Vatican found Reverend Fernando Karadima guilty of abuse in 2011. Cruz was one of the reverend’s victims.
Pope Francis called an emergency three-day summit to address the widespread abuse and cover-up by Chilean clergy.
As a result of the summit, all 34 Roman Catholic bishops offered to resign on Friday (18 May) in response to the country’s clergy sex abuse scandal.
It is up to Pope Francis to decide what to do next.
In light of the resignations, Cruz took to Twitter to express his thankfulness of the decision.
‘I’m very excited with all of this,’ he tweeted. ‘It’s good for our beloved country, for so many people who have suffered because of corrupt and deceitful bishops, and also survivors who have been ignored all over the world.’
He added: ‘There’s no going back. History has changed. Thank you, truly.’
Los que causaron tanto dolor, a veces peor que el abuso, hoy renuncian todos. El Papa oyó lo que le pedimos en nuestras conversaciones por sobrevivientes de todo el mundo. A los que hicieron tanto daño, hoy les llegó su día. @episcopado_cl que replica a la mafia, termina.
— Juan Carlos Cruz Ch. (@jccruzchellew) 18 May 2018
Cruz had the opportunity to talk to Pope Francis about a whole host of issues.
He recalls the first thing the Pope said to him when they met: ‘I want to apologize, in the name of the Pope and the Church for everything you have gone through.
‘I apologize for me, because I was the cause of this situation that caused you so much pain in these last months,’ Cruz recalled.
When asked if they discussed the abuse in length, Cruz said: ‘Yes, in a lot of detail.
‘I cried and he looked hurt. He put his hand on my shoulder and said “Cry, baby.”‘
Pope Francis recently said gays can’t burn in hell because ‘it doesn’t exist.’ He is against same-sex marriage but advocates for civil unions for same-sex couples.
