- Title: Pope says schooling on gender theory "against the natural things"
- Date: 2nd October 2016
- Summary: IN AIR (OCTOBER 2, 2016) (AGENCY POOL) POPE FRANCIS APPROACHING JOURNALISTS' AREA OF PLANE, ACCOMPANIED BY VATICAN SPOKESMAN GREG BURKE JOURNALIST TYPING (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE FRANCIS, SAYING: "[A French father of a 10 years old boy] asked his ten-year-old son: 'What do you want to do when you grow older?' - 'A girl'. The father realised that in the school books the gender theory was taught. This is against the natural things. If a person has this tendency, this option and also those who change sex, it means something -- while it is different teaching this line in the schools to change the mentality. I call this ideological colonisation." POPE AND JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE FRANCIS, SAYING: "Please don't report that: 'The Pope will make transsexuals saints', please. Because I can already see the headlines of the newspapers. Is there any doubt in what I said? I want to be clear. It is a moral problem. It is a human problem and it has to be solved as we can, with God's mercy." POPE AND JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE FRANCIS, SAYING: "When a person who has this condition arrive in front of Jesus, Jesus will surely not tell him 'Go away because you are homosexual'. No. What I referred to is that nastiness that today we have with indoctrination of the gender theory." POPE AND JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE FRANCIS, SAYING (ASKED ON U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS): "You are asking me a question related to a difficult choice. Because there …During an electoral campaign I never say a word. The people are sovereign and I can only say to study the proposals carefully, to pray and to choose with conscience." POPE LEAVING
- Embargoed: 17th October 2016 22:56
- Keywords: Pope gender studies Azerbaijan plane news conference
- Location: IN AIR
- City: IN AIR
- Country: In Air
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA00152BBEBR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Pope Francis on Sunday (October 2) said being transgender was "a moral problem", blaming schools for teaching gender theory "against the natural things".
"[A French father of a 10 years old boy] asked his 10-year-old son: 'What do you want to do when you grow older?' - 'A girl'. The father realised that in the school books the gender theory was taught. This is against the natural things. If a person has this tendency, this option and also those who change sex, it means something -- while it is different teaching this line in the schools to change the mentality. I call this ideological colonisation," he told journalists on board a flight back from Baku.
Pope Francis warned on Saturday (October 1) of a "global war" against traditional marriage and the family, saying both were under attack from gender theory and divorce.
Gender theory is broadly the concept that while a person may be biologically male or female, they have the right to identify themselves as male, female, both or neither.
The pope has used the phrase "ideological colonization" in the past to denounce what he says are attempts by rich countries to link development aid to the acceptance of social policies such as those allowing gay marriage and contraception.
But the pontiff also said during the in-air news conference that Jesus would not tell gays in the church to "go away" if confronted with them. The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are, and that homosexuals should try to be chaste.
Francis has been hailed by many in the gay community for being the most tolerant pope toward them in recent history and conservative Catholics have criticized him for making comments they say are ambiguous about sexual morality.
Asked on the upcoming United States presidential elections, Francis refused to endorse a candidate and instead asked voters "to study the proposals carefully, to pray and to choose with conscience".
U.S. Catholics voiced support for Francis in February after he criticised U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's immigration stance as "not Christian". - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
