Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of
more than 1.6 billion Roman Catholics, on Friday said children have a
right to grow up with a mother and a father.
Speaking to a delegation from the
International Catholic Child Bureau at the Vatican, Francis
said: “It is necessary to emphasize the right of children to
grow up within a family, with a father and a mother able to create a
suitable environment for their development and emotional maturity.
Continuing to mature in the relationship, in the complementarity of
the masculinity and femininity of a father and a mother, and thus
preparing the way for emotional maturity.”
Since ascending to pope last year,
Francis has made several comments viewed as friendly to the LGBT
community, including saying that the church should de-emphasize
social issues such as homosexuality, contraception and abortion.
When asked by reporters accompanying
him on a trip to Brazil about gay priests, Francis
reportedly replied, “Who am I to judge?”
In
an interview also last year, the pope added: “A person once
asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I
replied with another question: 'Tell me: when God looks at a gay
person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or
reject and condemn this person?' We must always consider the
person.”