Pope Francis gave a rather candid press conference on his flight back from Rio yesterday. Francis, fresh from rocking the Copacabana at World Youth Day, answered journalists’ questions for a full hour and twenty minutes on board the 12-hour flight, remaining standing the whole time. Apparently, nothing was off-limits: the questions covered topics from the troubled Vatican bank to women in the Church and divorce. Of women, Pope Francis said: “A church without women would be like the apostolic college without Mary. The Madonna is more important than the apostles, and the church herself is feminine, the spouse of Christ and a mother.” Women with priestly ambitions needn’t rejoice yet though, as he continued: “On the ordination of women, the church has spoken and said no. John Paul II, in a definitive formulation, said that door is closed.”
The real whopper however came with the question of the “homosexual lobby” that is said to hold some sway in Vatican. In a staggeringly accepting manner, the Pope mused about homosexuality and priesthood: “If they accept the Lord and have good will, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency [to homosexuality] is not the problem … they’re our brothers.” About the actual “lobby” the Pope said: “There’s a lot of talk about the gay lobby, but I’ve never seen it on the Vatican ID card!”
As with the Pope’s previous statement about atheists not necessarily being all hell-bound, we will now wait for corrections from Vatican officials.
