Where Does Pope Leo XIV Stand on LGBTQ+ Issues? Here’s What We Know

In his first public message, Pope Leo XIV said the Church should “receive everybody,” but some of his past comments haven’t been as welcoming

Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd on the main central loggia balcony of St Peter’s Basilica for the first time in The Vatican, on May 8, 2025.Credit : 

TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty

Now that he’s pope, people across the globe are wondering where Pope Leo XIV stands on a number of important topics, including LGBTQ+ issues.

A friend and mentee of the American pontiff, Rev. Michele Falcone, told The New York Times that the new pope — who was elected on Thursday, May 8 — represents a “dignified middle of the road,” helping breach the gap between more progressive and conservative ideologies that have played out in the Church for years.

The new pope is seen as being similar to Pope Francis in his dedication to the poor and his ability to connect with people of a wide range of backgrounds. Born in the United States, the new pope spent 20 years in Peru and served as the Archbishop of Chiclayo. He was also Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in which role he advised Francis on bishop appointments across the globe.

In his first address as the new head of the Church, the pontiff talked about unity.

“Together, we must try to find out how to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, establishes dialogues,” he said from the balcony in the Vatican City, emphasizing the need “to be able to receive everybody that needs our charity, our presence, dialogue and love.”

His past comments on the LGBTQ+ community, however, have not always been as welcoming.

In 2012, he said he was pained that Western media and society created “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” the Times reported, specifically referencing the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”

In Chiclayo, he also pushed back on a plan by the Peruvian government to teach about gender in schools, the newspaper reported. “The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist,” he told a local outlet, according to the Times.

It remains unclear if his views have changed over the years.

Francis, his predecessor, was largely seen as being more progressive and in fact surprised the world when he asked, “Who am I to judge?” after being asked a question about gay people in 2013.

A decade later, Francis announced that blessings should be extended to LGBTQ+ couples, though it did not change the church’s opinion on marriage, according to the New York Times. The Vatican also cleared the way for priests to baptize transgender people, as long as it doesn’t result in “public scandal or confusion among the faithful,” the AP reported.

Despite these sea changes, Francis received his own share of criticism for anti-LGBTQ+ remarks he made and for approving a document released by the Vatican in April 2024 that transition surgery and gender fluidity directly opposed human dignity, according to the Times.

Pope Leo XIV; Pope Francis.Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Antonio Masiello/Getty

While Leo’s views on certain topics are still somewhat unknown, his belief in love for others is at the fore.

In February, he posted two news articles on X that denounced Vice President JD Vance. One of them, which was titled, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” refuted Vance’s proclamation on Fox News about Christian priorities. The other delved deeper into the late Pope Francis’ criticism of Vance using the Catholic concept of “ordo amoris” to justify the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Father James Martin, who knows the new pope, wrote about the new pontiff’s warm traits on X after the election.

“I know Pope Leo XIV to be a kind, open, humble, modest, decisive, hard-working, straightforward, trustworthy, and down-to-earth man,” Martin wrote. “A brilliant choice. May God bless him.”

In a statement shared with PEOPLE after the pope’s election, Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, shared that the LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization is hoping to work with the new pope, as they had with Francis.

“The Roman Catholic Church stands on the threshold of a hopeful and inclusive new chapter,” she said. “With Pope Leo XIV’s leadership, there is an extraordinary opportunity to inspire billions around the world and further embrace LGBTQ people with compassion, dignity, and love.”

She added that the pope “can build on the progress already made and help create a Church that truly reflects the universal message of acceptance and care for all.”