The Vatican has denied reports that Pope Francis reached out to a
young gay man.
Christophe Trutino claimed that Francis contacted him after he
reached out to the Holy Father in a letter.
Trutino said that he was shocked to receive a phone call from the
pope in response to his letter.
He said that Francis told him that “your homosexuality doesn't
matter.”
Father Federico Lombardi, a spokesman for the Vatican, told daily
Le Figaro that “the pope never called this person,”
France's TheLocal.com
reported.
“The only time the pope has called France was to speak to
Cardinal Barbarin. I absolutely deny this information,” Lombardi
said.
“There is always the risk that people pretend to be the pope
over the phone,” he added.
Trutino, a 25-year-old from Toulouse, France, told La
Depeche du Midi that he wrote to the head of the Roman
Catholic Church to explain his difficulty in reconciling his
sexuality with his faith.
He said that Francis spoke to him in Spanish.
“I received the letter that you sent me. You need to remain
courageous and continue to believe and pray and stay good. Your
homosexuality. It doesn't matter. One way or another, we are all
children of God. This is why we must continue to be good,” Trutino
claims the pope told him.
In July, Francis suggested a softening in the church's approach to
gay rights, telling reporters that he's not in a position to judge
gay priests.
(Related: Pope
Francis says he won't judged gay priests.)