Pope Francis to trans person: 'God loves us as we are'

In a podcast, Pope Francis listens to the life stories of various young people - including a trans person. The latter tells of her turmoil. The pontiff gives her some words to take with her.

Pope Francis has assured a trans person of God's love. "God loves us as we are," Francis says in the new episode of the Popecast podcast released on Tuesday. "The Lord accompanies us always, always. Even when we are sinners, he comes closer to help us."

In the podcast episode on the Vatican News online portal, the Pope listens to the life stories of various young people, including Giona, a homosexual trans person. "I have felt torn between faith and trans identity, both members of the same body - my body," Giona says in one recording. "God loves us as we are," the Pope repeatedly comments, addressing Giona, "Don't give up. Keep going!"

Episode was created in the run-up to World Youth Day

According to the Catholic Catechism, a textbook of the fundamental tenets of the faith, "every human being, male or female, (...) must recognise and accept his or her sexuality". Among other things, Francis criticised an "ideology commonly called gender" in his 2016 letter "Amoris laetitia". This denies the natural relationship between man and woman and undermines the basis of the family.

The podcast episode, in which among others a criminal youth and a young woman with a mental illness speak out, was produced in the run-up to World Youth Day, which is taking place in Portugal at the beginning of August. Among other things, open-air services with the Pope and hundreds of thousands of young people are planned in Lisbon.

The "Popecast" is a production of the Vatican Media, based at the Communications Authority in the Vatican. The first episode appeared in March and revolved around Francis' tenth anniversary in office.

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