CANADA
Montreal Gazette
BY MONIQUE MUISE, THE GAZETTE JULY 29, 2013
MONTREAL – Gay-rights activists in Montreal reacted with a mixture of jubilation and caution on Monday after the head of the Roman Catholic Church stunned a plane full of reporters by declaring that he would not judge priests for their sexual orientation.
On an overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro to Rome, Pope Francis defied centuries of anti-gay rhetoric within the church when he publicly declared that “if a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?”
The pontiff then went a step farther, saying that every human being deserves respect, whatever their sexual orientation.
“The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says (homosexuals) should not be marginalized because of this (orientation) but that they must be integrated into society,” he said, speaking in Italian.
Martine Roy, president of Montreal-based advocacy group Fondation Émergence, was stunned by the pope’s words.
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