Pope Francis sought to reassure a transgender churchgoer this week on a podcast released by Vatican media, saying simply, “God loves us as we are.” In the podcast, Francis fielded audio questions from young people ahead of a Catholic youth festival in Portugal next week. One question was from an Italian in their 20s named Giona, who said they were “torn by the dichotomy between faith and transgender identity.” Francis replied that “the Lord always walks with us,” adding: “Even if we are sinners, he draws near to help us. The Lord loves us as we are, this is God’s crazy love.” The 86-year-old has famously been more accepting of LGBTQ+ issues than past Catholic leaders while condemning laws criminalizing members of the community. Francis did, however, call homosexuality a “sin” as recently as this year.
