Pope Francis has acknowledged that the Catholic Church has not yet developed much in its basic beliefs on the subject of sex. The catechism is “still in a very early phase” on the subject, said Francis in a conversation with young women and men, which has been shown in a documentary on the Disney streaming service since this week.
We Christians have not always had an “adult” attitude towards sex, the pontiff said. Sex is “one of the most beautiful things that God has given us. Expressing yourself sexually is a wealth. Sex is a beautiful thing”.
The Pope met the ten young men and women for a documentary by Spanish filmmakers Jordi Évole and Marius Sanchez last year. Some of them are not believers or have left the church. For example, one woman said that she used to be a nun, but felt psychologically abused for years. One man told how he was molested as a child by a member of the Catholic institution Opus Dei, who was later declared innocent by the Vatican.
Francis: “No right to throw anyone out of the Church”
In the film, which lasts almost an hour and a half, Francis also speaks about abortion, women in the church, migrants, bullying and racism as well as corruption and other flaws within the church. He said: “The real church is in the peripheries. In the center there are good people, holy people, but also a lot of corruption. You have to admit that.”
Asked whether there is room for transgender, non-binary or LGBT people in the church, Francis replied: “Every human being is a child of God, everyone.” God does not reject anyone – and clergymen in the Catholic Church are not allowed to do that either. Francis went on to say, “I have no right to throw anyone out of the Church. The Church must not close its doors to anyone.”
