Pope Leo talks Trump, sex abuse scandals, LGBTQ+ welcome and China in his first interview

Here are some highlights:

Welcoming the LGBTQ+ community

Leo embraced Pope Francis’ message for LGBTQ+ Catholics that “todos, todos, todos” are welcome in the Catholic Church but said that he found “it highly unlikely” the church’s core doctrine about sexuality would change anytime soon.

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual people must be treated with dignity and respect, but that homosexual activity is “intrinsically disordered.” It opposes same-sex marriage, saying marriage is a union between a man and woman.

“I think we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the church says about any given question,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Vatican hosted a Holy Year pilgrimage that included several LGBTQ+ Catholic groups. On Thursday, traditionalist Catholic groups announced a petition asking Leo to “confirm and reaffirm the perennial teaching of the church” on sexuality “in the face of the brazen offensive of those who demand the moral legitimization of homosexual relationships and unions.”

Ties with China

Leo said he didn’t foresee any short-term changes in the Vatican's controversial 2018 agreement with Beijing over bishop nominations.

The Vatican under Pope Francis had inked the accord hoping it would help unite China’s estimated 12 million Catholics, long divided between those belonging to an official, state-sanctioned church and an underground church loyal to Rome.

“I in no way pretend to be wiser or more experienced than all those who have come before me,” Leo said, adding he was studying the issue and speaking with Chinese people “on both sides" about it.

The Vatican has defended the 2018 accord against criticism that Francis sold out the underground faithful, who endured decades of persecution by the Beijing authorities. The Vatican has said the deal was necessary to prevent an even worse schism in the Chinese church after China named bishops without the pope’s consent.

Sex abuse scandals

Leo said the sex abuse crisis is “a real crisis” that has not yet been solved, and that the church still hasn't found a way to help victims heal. But he also said the rights of priests must be respected.

“Statistics show that well over 90% of people who come forward and make accusations, they are authentically victims. They are telling the truth. They are not making this up," he said. "But there have also been proven cases of some kind of false accusation. There have been priests whose lives have been destroyed because of that.”

The pope also said the scandal “cannot become the center focus of the church.”

Leo was instrumental in helping victims of an abusive Peruvian group find justice but he has been accused by a U.S. victim advocacy group of not doing enough to help other Peruvian victims.

Trump and US politics

Leo said he recognized the influence of the United States on world affairs and mentioned migration as one of the issue important to the Catholic Church.

He recalled a letter Francis sent to U.S. bishops earlier this year rebuking the Trump administration's plans for mass deportations of migrants. The letter took direct aim at Vice President JD Vance’s defense of the deportation program on theological grounds.

Leo praised Francis' initiative and said U.S. bishops showed “courage” in confronting the administration, expressing hopes they would continue to take the lead on such issues.

“One of the last conversations I had with the vice president of the United States – I have not had direct conversations with or have not met the president – I talked about human dignity and how important that is for all people, wherever you’re born, and hopefully to find ways to respect human beings and the way we treat them in the policies and choices we make," Leo said.

Leo made clear he is not a Trump supporter, adding that he and his brother Luis Prevost, a self-described “MAGA-type,” who has met the U.S. president are in "different places.”

“The United States is a power player on the world level, we have to recognize that, and sometimes decisions are made more based on economics than on human dignity and human support, but (we have to) continue to challenge and to raise some questions and to see the best way to do that,” Leo said.

Women's voices

Leo vowed to continue appointing women to leadership positions in the church, but tamped down any hopes of ordaining women as deacons or as priests. He pointed to an ongoing study by the Vatican’s doctrine office on the issue.

“I at the moment don’t have an intention of changing the teaching of the church on the topic,” he said. “I am certainly willing to continue to listen to people.”

Vatican finances

Leo inherited a longstanding financial crunch at the Vatican, which has been running a 50 million to 60 million euro ($57 million to $68 million) structural deficit, a 1 billion euro ($1.14 billion) pension fund shortfall and declining donations.

The crisis hit hardest during the pandemic when the Holy See’s main source of revenue, the Vatican Museums, closed down.

But things are improving and “it is not the crisis that people have been led to believe,” Leo said.

“I’m not saying we can relax," he said. "I don’t think the crisis is over, I think we have to continue to work on this, but I’m not losing sleep over it, and I think that it’s important that we communicate a different message.”

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