US EditionPope Leo plans to keep Francis' key reforms but avoid bigger changes, he says
Pope Leo XIV emphasizes continuity with traditional Catholic teachings amid internal divisions, noting the church's 1.4 billion members remain deeply divided on LGBTQ+ issues and women's ordination.
- Pope Leo XIV, elected in May as the first U.S.-born pope, stated in a recent interview that he will maintain key reforms initiated by Pope Francis while avoiding major doctrinal changes.
- This position follows ongoing Church debates on topics like LGBTQ+ inclusion, women's ordination, and the controversial 2018 agreement with China on bishop appointments, which Leo confirmed he will not alter in the short term.
- Leo expressed concern about global issues including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and political tensions in the U.S., but he refrained from partisan involvement or labeling events as genocide, reflecting a more reserved stance than his predecessor Francis.
- He emphasized that victims of clerical abuse must be treated with respect and stated that over 90% of accusations are authentic, also noting the Vatican's ongoing financial difficulties with an 83-million-euro budget deficit and pension shortfalls.
- Leo's leadership suggests continuity with Francis' openness to dialogue and inclusion, yet he underscored that Church teaching will remain as it is, highlighting a cautious approach amid internal divisions and calls for attitude changes rather than doctrine revisions.
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89 Articles
Pope Leo Plans to Keep Francis' Key Reforms but Avoid Bigger Changes
Pope Leo is not planning big changes to Church teaching, he said in his first interview, released Thursday, but he will keep Pope Francis' signature policies to welcome gay Catholics, discuss women's ordination and give China input on bishop appointments.
Pope Leo plans to keep Francis' key reforms but avoid bigger changes, he says
Pope Leo will keep Pope Francis' signature policies to welcome gay Catholics, discuss women's ordination and give China input on bishop appointments, but is not planning big changes to Church teaching, he said in his first interview, released on Thursday.
Church doctrine on gays won't change says Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV has said the Catholic Church's teaching that homosexual acts are a mortal sin is not set to change, stressing this was also the position of his predecessor Pope Francis, in a wide-ranging interview with Crux Senior Correspondent Elise Ann Allen. (ANSA)
Associated Press News
Pope Leo talks Trump, sex abuse scandals, LGBTQ+ welcome and China in his first interview
Pope Leo XIV says he has no intention of getting involved in U.S. politics but will raise his voice on issues of concern to the Catholic Church, including on immigration.
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