He claimed in his speech: “This is God’s dream for his beloved creation: to see it fulfilled in the loving union between a man and a woman, rejoicing in their shared journey, fruitful in their mutual gift of self.
The Pontiff also insisted the church cannot be “swayed by passing fads or popular opinion”.
Elsewhere in a speech, he claimed the church is “a mother, who doesn’t point fingers or judge her children.”
He said: “The church must search out these persons, welcome and accompany them, for a church with closed doors betrays herself and her mission and instead of being a bridge, becomes a roadblock.”
The church had been divided on the issue in the run-up to the gathering, with conservative members insisting that the Catholic doctrine is clear and unchanging when it comes to homosexuality.
Official Catholic doctrine holds that homosexuality is an “intrinsic disorder”, but progressive theologians have recently come to accept that sexuality is innate – a premise that makes it harder to maintain a stance of outright condemnation.
Despite an early ‘who am I to judge’ PR blitz attempting to bolster his image, the Pope is yet to lift any of the actively homophobic and transphobic policies of his predecessors.
Proposals to ‘reach out’ to gay people were scrapped at last year’s Synod – and despite suggestions that the plans would return this year, it is clear that the Church has no plans to have an open discussion surrounding the matter.
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