On First Anniversary of His Papacy, Has Pope Leo Helped or Hindered LGBTQ+ Catholics?

Today and tomorrow, Bondings 2.0 offers two posts which observe the first anniversary of the election of Pope Leo XIV.  Today’s post is from Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry’s executive director and editor of Bondings 2.0. Tomorrow’s post will be from Robert Shine, a former associate director of New Ways Ministry and a former managing editor of  Bondings 2.0.

Pope Leo XIV

One year ago today, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was chosen by the church’s cardinals to become the next pontiff. Pope Leo XIV succeeded the late Pope Francis, who had become the strongest advocate for LGBTQ+ people that the papacy had ever seen. 

The question on many people’s minds all year has been: will Leo continue along the lines of Francis in regard to LGBTQ+ issues?

The most consistent answer that I have heard all year has been two words: “Nobody knows.” We have had a few positive  signals which point in the direction of “yes,” but these are usually followed by something that leans toward the negative. For instance, Fr. James Martin, SJ, a writer and Catholic advocate for LGBTQ+ people met privately with Leo on September 1st, and announced afterward that he was convinced that Leo would continue in the footsteps of Francis. 

And a few days later, the LGBTQ+ Jubilee Year Pilgrimage of Hope, which brought together several thousand LGBTQ+ and ally pilgrims to prayerfully process through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. The pilgrims did not experience institutional negativity. 

But there was also a ripple of disappointment in the group that Leo had not offered a public welcome message to them. At the pilgrimage’s Mass that morning Bishop Francesco Savino, who presided, did tell the congregants that Leo told him he was glad the bishop was at the Mass. Nice, but still a bit disheartening because Leo spoke to the bishop, but did not address LGBTQ+ people.

Shortly after that event, journalist Elise Ann Allen published a book-length interview with Leo, the first one-on-one interview of his pontificate, in which he discussed LGBTQ+ issues within the context of church issues which spark controversy. He seemed to indicate that he saw his role as pope was not to take any particular side of an issue, but to promote unity. He acknowledged then that “I don’t have a plan at the moment” to address LGBTQ+ issues, but he expanded his answer by observing:

“. . . [A]s we’ve seen at the synod, any issue dealing with the LGBTQ questions is highly polarizing within the Church. For now, because of what I’ve already tried to demonstrate and live out in terms of my understanding of being pope at this time in history, I’m trying not to continue to polarize or promote polarization in the church.”

Pope Leo XIV welcomes Jesuit Father James Martin.

In the same interview, Leo predicted:

“I think we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question. I find it highly unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the church’s doctrine in terms of what the church teaches about sexuality, what the Church teaches about marriage, [will change].”

For many LGBTQ+ Catholics these statements was a disappointing statement, interpreted as an indication of something that was becoming apparent:  LGBTQ+ issues are not on Pope Leo’s agenda. 

Recently, though, a comment he made on his plane ride back from his apostolic visit to several African nations, offered what is perhaps part of his reason why they were not on his agenda:

“. . . [I]t’s very important to understand that the unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters. We tend to think that when the Church is talking about morality, that the only issue of morality is sexual. And in reality, I believe there are much greater, more important issues, such as justice, equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue.”

Pope Leo XIV answering questions from journalists at news conference on plane ride back to Rome.

While this statement was positive, his comment highlighted an important absence: two of the four nations that he visited, Algeria and Cameroon, have harsh anti-gay laws, and yet, he did not address this issue, which would certainly fit his frame of “justice, equality, freedom.”

Despite this up-and-down record, I am willing to give Leo the benefit of the doubt. While his record on LGBTQ+ issues in this first year has positives and negatives, he has not tried to stifle Pope Francis’ agenda. In fact, the quote from his airplane interview about downplaying sexual morality echoes Francis’ 2013 comment during an interview when the Argentinian pope said the Church “cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage, and the use of contraceptive methods. . .it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”

While I am trying to maintain objectivity about Leo’s LGBTQ+ record, I have to admit to a large, but involuntary, bias: Pope Leo is following the most LGBTQ-positive pope in church history, who himself followed two of the most LGBTQ-negative popes. In other words, while Francis’ pro-LGBTQ+ comments were experienced as healing balms after so much pain, Leo instead has a very big act to follow. I have to admit that my expectations of Pope Leo may be outsized because of the experience of Francis’ papacy.  

And while I may be critical of some of the things Leo has done or not done, I am grateful that he will not bring the church back to the dark days before Francis. 

Four of Pope Leo’s personal qualities bode well for how he might approachLGBTQ+ issues:

1. He is a listener who consults a variety of opinions 
2. He is a bridge builder who aims at reconciliation. 
3. He is a descendant of Leo XIII who was concerned with the people at the margins 
4. He is a promoter of synodality, continuing one of the most significant pieces of Pope Francis’ legacy. 

Of these four qualities, this week has shown that the fourth one will probably be the most beneficial for LGBTQ+ issues.  The report from the Synod on Synodality’s Study Group 9 is easily the most LGBTQ-friendly document that has come out of the Vatican. The document’s mention of LGBTQ+ issues was minimal–mostly restricted to the two testimonies from Catholic gay men that were appended to the report–but the road map for consultation and decision-making in the church has many of the qualities that Catholic LGBTQ+ advocates have been asking for:  listening to stories, paying attention to lived experiences, considering evidence from expert fields of knowledge outside the church (e.g., science), and valuing pastoral responses over doctrinal ones when interacting with people. 

This document also called for a “paradigm shift” in the church, something which is long overdue. If Leo’s commitment to synodality is strong, which he has so far shown it is, many good things can occur.

Even though LGBTQ+ issues are on Leo’s agenda, his “hands off” could have positive outcomes. Why? Because, he may just let things happen. He may allow for new pastoral outreaches and theological exploration to occur which can have a positive effect down the road. Change in the church always comes from the bottom up, from pastoral practice which leads to new doctrinal formulas.

If the “let things happen” approach becomes Pope Leo’s style, that puts extra emphasis on us, Catholics at the grassroots, to continue to do our educational and advocacy work.  We need to continue to take part in local synodal activities in our parishes and dioceses. We need to keep offering a warm welcome to LGBTQ+ people to our parish and faith communities.  We need to continue speaking out for justice and equality for LGBTQ+ people in church and society.  

If Pope Leo simply allows such opportunities to occur, and I think he will, his papacy can truly be a worthy successor to the 13 years when Pope Francis sat on the chair of Peter. 

—Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry, May 8, 2026

For further reading:

For all of Bondings 2.0’s posts about Pope Leo XIV, click here