The Church is for everyone—todos, todos, todos
In the early weeks of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV received Rev. James Martin — the Catholic Church's most prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion — and asked him to continue his work, a gesture the Vatican made no effort to conceal. The meeting, brief but deliberate, placed Leo within the long shadow of Pope Francis, whose twelve-year effort to hold pastoral welcome and unchanged doctrine in uneasy tension now passes to a new steward. History rarely turns on doctrine alone; sometimes it turns on who a pope chooses to be seen with, and what he asks them to keep doing.
- A pope barely weeks into his reign is already being read for signals, and the signal he chose to send — a public audience with the Church's most visible LGBTQ+ advocate — was unmistakable in its intent.
- The tension is real: Leo once condemned the 'homosexual lifestyle' in writing, and Church doctrine still classifies homosexual acts as 'intrinsically disordered,' leaving LGBTQ+ Catholics in a pastoral embrace that official teaching has never fully authorized.
- An LGBTQ+ pilgrimage appearing on the Vatican's Holy Year calendar — however carefully officials framed it as logistical rather than endorsing — adds institutional texture to what might otherwise be dismissed as a symbolic gesture.
- Martin, who had worked alongside Leo during the synod process, emerged from the meeting reassured, carrying the same phrase Francis made his signature — 'todos, todos, todos' — now spoken by a new pope.
- The trajectory is continuity rather than rupture: a Church that will not change its doctrine but will, under Leo as under Francis, insist that the door remains open — a position that satisfies no one completely and yet holds the institution together.
On a Monday in early September, Pope Leo XIV met privately with Rev. James Martin — Jesuit priest, author, and the Catholic Church's most recognizable voice for LGBTQ+ inclusion — and then made sure the world knew about it. The Vatican announced the thirty-minute audience officially. Leo had asked Martin to continue his advocacy work.
Martin told reporters the message he heard from Leo was the same one he had heard from Pope Francis: the Church intends to welcome everyone. He quoted the new pope invoking Francis's signature Spanish phrase — 'todos, todos, todos' — and described the meeting as consoling, encouraging, and frankly fun. Leo's stated priorities were peace in Ukraine, Gaza, and Myanmar, but he had also made a point of the Church's universal welcome.
The meeting arrived just before an LGBTQ+ Catholic pilgrimage organized by an Italian group called Jonathan's Tent was set to take place in Rome, complete with a Mass at a prominent Jesuit church. The Vatican had listed the event on its official Holy Year calendar — carefully noting the listing was logistical, not an endorsement — but the institutional footprint was visible regardless.
The contrast with Leo's past was not lost on observers. In 2012, then-Rev. Robert Prevost had criticized the 'homosexual lifestyle' and blamed media for normalizing same-sex relationships against Church teaching. When asked as a cardinal whether his views had evolved, he acknowledged Francis's call not to exclude people — but also reaffirmed that Church doctrine had not changed. Homosexual acts remain classified in official teaching as intrinsically disordered.
Martin said he had never been worried. He had always found Leo to be open and welcoming during their work together at the synod. Still, he said, hearing the continuity stated plainly was reassuring.
What the moment ultimately signaled was inheritance. For twelve years, Francis had held pastoral openness and doctrinal rigidity in deliberate tension — blessing same-sex couples, meeting with Martin repeatedly, saying 'Who am I to judge?' — without ever altering the underlying teaching. Leo, in one of his earliest visible acts, chose to step into that same posture. For LGBTQ+ Catholics watching a new papacy take shape, the signal was modest but legible: the door Francis opened had not been closed.
Pope Leo XIV sat down with one of the Catholic Church's most visible advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion on a Monday in early September, and what he said—or rather, what he chose to say publicly—amounted to a statement about the direction of his papacy before it had barely begun.
The pope met with Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author based in New York who has spent years pushing the Church toward greater acceptance of gay and lesbian Catholics. The audience lasted roughly thirty minutes. The Vatican announced it officially, which itself was significant: Leo wanted the world to know this conversation had happened.
Martin emerged from the meeting and told reporters he had heard from Leo the same message he had heard from Pope Francis—that the Church intends to welcome all people, including LGBTQ+ people. "It was wonderful," Martin said. "It was very consoling and very encouraging and frankly a lot of fun." Leo had also asked Martin to continue his advocacy work. The pope's stated priorities, Martin reported, were peace and unity in places like Ukraine, Gaza, and Myanmar. But Leo had also made a point of reminding people that the Church is for everyone—using Francis' famous Spanish phrase: "todos, todos, todos."
The timing mattered. Just days after this meeting, an LGBTQ+ Catholic pilgrimage was scheduled to take place in Rome, organized by an Italian group called Jonathan's Tent. The event would include a Mass at a major Jesuit church, celebrated by a high-ranking member of Italy's bishops' conference. The Vatican had listed the pilgrimage on its official Holy Year calendar, though officials were careful to note that such a listing was merely logistical—a way to help groups organize their visits to St. Peter's Basilica—and did not constitute formal endorsement.
Leo's openness stood in contrast to comments he had made years earlier. In 2012, when he was known as Rev. Robert Prevost, he had criticized the "homosexual lifestyle" and blamed mass media for promoting acceptance of same-sex relationships in ways that conflicted with Catholic teaching. When he became a cardinal in 2023, a Catholic news outlet asked if his views had shifted. Prevost acknowledged that Pope Francis had made clear the Church should not exclude people based on their choices—how they lived, what they wore, how they worked. But he had also underlined that Church doctrine had not changed: homosexual acts remain classified in official teaching as "intrinsically disordered."
Martin, who had worked alongside Prevost during the Church's recent synod on its future, said he had never been worried about Leo's views. He had always found him to be "a very open, welcoming, inclusive person." Still, Martin said, it was reassuring to hear the continuation stated so clearly.
What made this moment significant was what it signaled about continuity. For twelve years, from 2013 to 2025, Pope Francis had worked more deliberately than any of his recent predecessors to make the Catholic Church a place where LGBTQ+ people felt acknowledged and valued. His 2013 comment—"Who am I to judge?" about a purportedly gay priest—had become iconic. He had allowed priests to bless same-sex couples. He had met with Martin multiple times and given him roles in the Vatican's communications office and in the synod process. Yet Francis had never altered the underlying doctrine. The Church's official position on homosexual acts had remained unchanged.
Now, just weeks into his papacy, Leo was signaling that this approach would continue. The message, as Martin understood it, was simple: if Catholics had been encouraged by Francis's stance toward LGBTQ+ people, they would find the same encouragement under Leo. The new pope had asked Martin to keep doing what he was doing. For a Church that had long treated LGBTQ+ Catholics with indifference or hostility, the signal—even without a change in formal doctrine—represented something worth watching.
Notable Quotes
I heard the same message from Pope Leo that I heard from Pope Francis, which is the desire to welcome all people, including LGBTQ people.— Rev. James Martin, after meeting with Pope Leo XIV
We are looking to be more welcoming and more open and to say all people are welcome in the church.— Pope Leo XIV (then Cardinal Prevost), in 2023
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the Vatican bother announcing this meeting publicly? They could have kept it quiet.
Because Leo wanted people to know he was continuing Francis's approach. A secret meeting would have sent the opposite signal—that this was something to hide. By announcing it, he's saying this is legitimate Church business.
But the Church's doctrine hasn't changed. Homosexual acts are still listed as disordered. So what's actually different?
The difference is in how the Church treats the people. Doctrine and pastoral practice aren't the same thing. You can hold a teaching and still welcome someone into the room, ask them to keep doing their work, listen to them. That's what's shifting.
Martin said Leo told him to keep advocating. But what if Leo changes his mind later? What if this is just a honeymoon period?
That's a fair question. But Leo had already signaled his thinking when he was a cardinal. He acknowledged Francis's vision of a more welcoming church. This meeting wasn't a surprise reversal—it was confirmation of something he'd already said he believed.
The pilgrimage isn't officially endorsed by the Vatican, but it's on their calendar. That seems like having it both ways.
It does. The Vatican gets to say they're being helpful and logistical without taking a formal stance. But listing it on the Holy Year calendar is still a form of recognition. It says: this is a legitimate pilgrimage, and Catholics can participate in it.
What happens if conservative bishops push back against all this?
That's the real tension. Leo has signaled his direction, but the Church is vast and decentralized. Individual bishops can still resist. The pilgrimage and Martin's work will likely face opposition from parts of the hierarchy. Leo's job is to hold the line he's drawn.