Pope Francis has addressed the subject of marginalised groups in many of his sermons. He was particularly concerned about migrants or prisoners, uncompromisingly calling for a change in society’s view of the situation of these people and their treatment by both the church and state governments, which often exposed him to attacks from individuals and structures committed to conservative values. He was also an important figure for the LGBTQ+ community.
‘Many reject those he embraced’
Although Pope Francis did not change as much in the Catholic Church as quite a few people belonging to the LGBTQ+ minority would have expected, he was the first pope to introduce the possibility of blessing same-sex couples outside the liturgical ritual. However, this did not mean that the church accepted the union of homosexual couples.
“Pope Francis, although he did not change the official teaching of the Church towards homosexuals, was the first pope to meet openly with the LGBTQ+ community,” says Dariusz from the Faith and Rainbow Foundation, an ecumenical group advocating full acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in the Church, in an interview with Euronews. “His pontificate has given many people a glimmer of hope – hope for inclusion, compassion and recognition of their dignity. The legacy of love and justice he left behind continues to inspire, even if today many praise his greatness while rejecting those he welcomed: refugees, LGBTQ+ people, people on the margins.”
While many in the minority community expected actions rather than words, some of them value the pope’s gestures and the symbolism that comes with them.
“Certainly the way Francis began his pontificate was significantly different from what we were used to – I mean that he relied on close, direct contact with people, not only with the distant faithful, but also with people directly from his environment. Also his not condemning LGTBQ+ people was significant,” says Peter, an LGBTQ+ person. “The statement that stuck in my mind was: ‘who am I to judge gay people’”.
‘That’s one of the reasons I left the Church” – non-believers on Pope Francis
Although Francis was clear about his views, some people point out that no real change was made in the Church during his pontificate.
“I liked that at the beginning he wanted to have his influence on the Church, to open up more, he wanted to introduce something more modern. I knew it wasn’t going to happen, but it was cool that he tried,” says Pauline, who officially left the Catholic Church a few years ago. “That’s one of the reasons I left the Church, because I saw the inconsistency and such hypocrisy, that the Church officially teaches love for your neighbour, and in fact it looks completely different.”
“Francis had a strong start,” says Natalia, a non-believer. “He convinced me with his positive approach to atheists, and he didn’t exclude non-heteronormative people either. I was tempted to think something positively about the CC. Francis was funny, familiar, friendly. Everything, unfortunately, ‘went back to normal’ after he was mealy-mouthed about the Russian-Ukrainian war. He will remain in my memory as a person of confused views, despite his good intentions.”
War in Ukraine a bone of contention
The pope’s attitude to the war in Ukraine is one of the most frequently raised issues by non-believers, but also by Christians. The pope has been criticised for not unequivocally condemning the war in Ukraine and naming its aggressors, especially in Poland.
“The fact that he did not unequivocally condemn the war in Ukraine put him in a poor light,” says Paulina. “I got the impression as if he wanted to be an uncontested party in the conflict, and sometimes that’s not the case. It kind of looked like he was just starting his journey with diplomacy.”
“His attitude to Russia’s war with Ukraine was ambiguous, to say the least, and it is only now that I am getting information that he tried to support the Ukrainians as much as he could,” says Piotr.
Many have also criticised Francis for his open calls for respect for the rights of migrants.
“In my opinion, he didn’t have some big impact on global politics, I rather look at him as a man who had a bit of a wrong view on some issues and showed rather a turn of the cheek e.g. the war in Ukraine, the rise of Islamisation in Europe, the persecution of Christians in Africa and Asia,” says Bartek, an LGBTQ+ non-believer. “However, he had a good view on taking care of ecology and climate. In the end, it seems to me that he is unlikely to be remembered by the general public in the same way as, for example, John Paul II.”
However, it is worth pointing out that it was John Paul II who started the inter-religious dialogue and was the first to organise joint prayers with representatives of different religions. In his approach, Pope Francis continued the need for dialogue between Christians and Muslims, saying that it is an obligation if we want to obey the will of God.
‘He taught us to listen deeply’
“As Archbishop of Buenos Aires and later as pope, Francis supported the legal recognition of same-sex unions, seeing this as an expression of the protection of human dignity, although he continued to oppose equating them with marriage. Pope Francis inspired me and many others in the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to be brave,” says Darius. “To take the risk of living in the truth about ourselves. More importantly, he has taught us to listen deeply: the more carefully we listen to those who are different from us, the more clearly we see the depth of their faith and their unwavering desire for love and acceptance. This desire is particularly precious because so many of them have been rejected – by their own families, by their communities, by the Church – simply for who they are.”
ADVEReadNOWISEMENT“Francis caught my attention,” says Pauline. “He didn’t give me hope because I didn’t believe his pontificate would change anything, I had no expectations. He was more open at the beginning of his pontificate.”
Despite the criticism that has fallen on Francis from the conservative faithful and non-believers, it must be said that he has not been afraid to openly criticise the leaders of the major powers. On his return from Mexico in 2016, where a wall was being built between the US and Mexico under the Trump administration, Francis said of the current head of the United States that “anyone who wants to build walls instead of bridges is not a Christian.”
“Anyone who deports people who have left their country because of extreme poverty, exploitation or persecution violates their dignity,” he wrote in a letter to US bishops in February 2025.