Pope Francis provided an extensive report, spoke about the economic reality of Argentina and made a harsh criticism: “In the year 55, when I finished my secondary school, the poverty level was 5%, today poverty is at 52 %. What happened? Bad management, bad policies.”
“Argentina at the moment, and I don’t do politics, I read the data, it has an impressive level of inflation,” added the Supreme Pontiff during an interview with The Associated Press. And he expanded: “There is a theological-cultural history, which says that the guardian angels of the countries went to complain to God and told him ‘you were unfair to us because you gave each of us wealth, mining, agriculture, livestock, and You gave the Argentines everything, everything, they have all the riches.’ They say that God thought a little, and said: ‘To balance I gave them to the Argentines’. truth is, we have not finished carrying out our things”.
In turn, he once again ruled out a visit to Argentina. “At the moment, no. It was scheduled in 2017, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. November, what happened? Bachellet was ending and I wanted to go with Michelle. We move it to December, but falling in Argentina in January you can’t even find a dog on the street, it’s like Roman August. If you remember, we did Chile and Peru, and then it was no longer rescheduled.”
“HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT A CRIME”
In relation to the other issues, Francisco considered that “being homosexual is not a crime.” While acknowledging that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and referred to homosexuality as a “sin,” he attributed such attitudes to cultural contexts and said that bishops in particular they must also go through a process of change to recognize the dignity of all.
“The bishop also has a conversion process,” he said, adding that they should show “tenderness, please, tenderness, as God has with each one of us.”
Some 67 countries or jurisdictions around the world criminalize consensual same-sex relations, and 11 of them can or do carry the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust, which is working to end those laws. Experts point out that even when laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, stigma, and violence against LGBTQ people.
In the United States, more than a dozen states still have anti-sodomy laws in their laws, despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling that declared them unconstitutional. LGBTQ rights advocates say such outdated laws are being used to harass homosexuals and point to new rules like the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” rule in Florida, which bans sexual orientation and gender identity education between kindergarten and third grade, as evidence of ongoing efforts to marginalize LGBTQ people.
The United Nations has repeatedly called for the abandonment of laws that criminalize homosexuality and affirms that they violate the rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination, in addition to failing to comply with the obligations of those countries under international law to protect the human rights of everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Francis declared those rules “unjust” and said the Catholic Church can and should work to end them. “They have to, they have to,” he said.
