"So much is written about the gay lobby. I have yet to find anyone who can give me a Vatican identity card with 'gay' [written on it]. They say they are there," the Pope said.
He said that all lobbies are bad and "the gravest problem for me." Citing the Catechism's teaching against marginalizing homosexual persons, he said, "If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, well who am I to judge them?"
Cardinal Maradiaga also spoke to El Heraldo about reform and changes to the Church.
"We should not expect there will be major reforms in the doctrine of the Church," he said. "The reform is the organization of the Curia."
He acknowledged resistance to Curia reform, saying there are people who "resist any changes" precisely because "they do not know the life of the Church."
The Church is "not merely a human institution," he explained. Rather, it is "humane-divine" and "natural and supernatural." This means "there are things that do not really depend on what is human."
The cardinal's remarks on a "gay lobby" follow years of increasingly prominent agitation for doctrinal change from non-Catholics and some Catholics.
As CNA has reported previously, LGBT activists have backed conferences and advocacy events to counter the narrative of the Catholic Church, especially during its synods on the family. These actions include the formation of a coalition called the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics and an advocacy campaign that targeted synod attendees in hopes of countering the influence of bishops from West Africa.
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) Staff are a team of journalists dedicated to reporting news concerning the Catholic Church around the world. Our bureaus are located in Denver, Washington, and Rome. We have sister language agencies in Kenya, Germany, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. CNA is a service of EWTN News. You can contact us at news@catholicna.com with questions.