杏MAP导航

By Vatican News

“I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin.”

杏MAP导航 Francis penned those words in response to a letter from Father James Martin, SJ, who carries out his apostolate among the LGBTQ community in the United States.

The American Jesuit had written to the Holy Father following his recent interview with the Associated Press.

The 杏MAP导航's handwritten response in Spanish was posted on , along with a translation in English.

Clarification

It was already clear from the context of the interview that the 杏MAP导航 had spoken of homosexuality, meaning in that case "homosexual acts" and not homosexuality itself.

In his letter, 杏MAP导航 Francis reiterated that his position is that of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as he had already said in his ("If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?").

Responding to Fr. Martin, the 杏MAP导航 stressed that, regarding sin, “one must also consider the circumstances, which may decrease or eliminate fault.”

“I should have said ‘It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage’,” added the 杏MAP导航. “This is to speak of ‘the matter’ of sin, but we know well that Catholic morality not only takes into consideration the matter, but also evaluates freedom and intention; and this, for every kind of sin.”

Prayers

杏MAP导航 Francis went on in his letter to repeat that being homosexual is not a crime.

“I would tell whoever wants to criminalize homosexuality that they are wrong,” he wrote. “In a televised interview, where we spoke with natural and conversational language, it is understandable that there would not be such precise definitions.”

There are over 50 countries that hold out the possibility of legal sentences for homosexual people and some of these nations even employ the death penalty.

The 杏MAP导航 concluded his letter by assuring Fr. Martin that he prays for him and his work with the LGBTQ community.

“Please do the same for me,” he said.