Pope and protestant leaders denounce anti-gay laws

Pope Francis and the leaders of protestant churches successful England and Scotland person denounced the criminalisation of homosexuality.

Speaking to reporters aft visiting South Sudan, the Pope said specified laws were a misdeed and "an injustice".

He added radical with "homosexual tendencies" are children of God and should beryllium welcomed by their churches.

His comments were backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland.

Archbishop Justin Welby and Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, travelled with the Pope to South Sudan wherever they jointly called for bid successful the war-torn country.

It is the archetypal clip the leaders of the 3 traditions person travel unneurotic for specified a travel successful 500 years.

Archbishop Welby and Dr Greenshields praised the Pope's comments during a quality league with reporters connected committee the papal level arsenic they travelled from Juba to Rome.

"I wholly hold with each connection helium said there," said Archbishop Welby, noting that the Anglican religion had its ain interior divisions implicit cheery rights.

Last period the Church of England said it would garbage to let same-sex couples to beryllium joined successful its churches.

Expressing his ain support, Dr Greenshields referred to the Bible, saying: "There is obscurity successful the 4 Gospels that I spot thing different than Jesus expressing emotion to whoever helium meets, and arsenic Christians that is the lone look that we tin springiness to immoderate quality being successful immoderate circumstance".

During the quality league Pope Francis repeated his presumption that the Catholic Church cannot licence sacramental matrimony of same-sex couples.

But helium said helium supported alleged civilian national legislation, and stressed that laws banning homosexuality were "a occupation that cannot beryllium ignored".

He suggested that 50 countries criminalise LGBT radical "in 1 mode oregon another", and astir 10 person laws carrying the decease penalty.

Currently 66 UN subordinate states criminalise consensual same-sex relations, according to ILGA World - the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.

"This is not right. Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God," said the Pope.

"God loves them. God accompanies them... condemning a idiosyncratic similar this is simply a sin."

But immoderate blimpish Catholics person criticised him for making comments they accidental are ambiguous astir intersexual morality.

In 2013, soon aft becoming Pope, helium reaffirmed the Catholic Church's presumption that homosexual acts were sinful, but added that homosexual predisposition was not.

Five years later, during a sojourn to Ireland, Pope Francis stressed that parents could not disown their LGBT children and had to support them successful a loving family.