Pope urges Church to welcome trans people but warns against ‘indoctrination’ of children
By Will Stroude
The Pope has encouraged Catholic church leaders to welcome trans believers, according to the Washington Post.
He made the announcement at the end a trip to Tbilisi, Georgia on Sunday (October 2). While he insisted that trans people “must be accompanied as Jesus accompanied them,” he remained opposed to teaching young people about modern gender theory, which argues that gender is self-identified, rather than strictly based on genitals.
“It’s one thing if a person has this tendency and also changes sex. It’s another thing to teach this in school to change mentalities. This is what I call ‘ideological colonisation,’” he said.
The following day (October 3), he revealed that he had ministered to people struggling with gender identity issues.
“I’ve never abandoned them,” he said. “When someone who has this condition comes before Jesus, Jesus would surely never say ‘go away because you’re gay.’
“And I received them. And they were happy,” Francis said of the audience.
According to reports, he begged journalists: “Please don’t write ‘The Pope blesses trans.’ Please.”
The Pope has been a vocal opponent of trans rights, having recently described gender theory as “terrible”.
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