Pope on gays: "Who am I to judge?"

[UrbScotty]

Pope Francis reached out an olive branch to the gay community Monday, saying that he won't "judge" gay priests.

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" the pope said.

The pope's predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, authored a document that said men with homosexual orientations should not be priests. Francis is softening that position, saying gay clergymen should be forgiven.

The pope was speaking to reporters on an overnight flight as he returned to Rome from a week-long trip to Brazil. The Wall Street Journal reported that Francis discussed the issue after a reporter asked about a report in an Italian magazine purporting that a Vatican monsignor named Battista Ricca engaged in gay sexual relationships years ago while living in Latin America.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/29/pope-gay-priests/2595255/

[TommyCelt]

1. Pope Francis...

...has gotten himself into the habit of surprising me just about every day since Conclave 2013.

[rug]

2. Indeed.