Pope Francis caused a bit of a stir recently when he reportedly made a reference to a “gay lobby”
that exists inside the Vatican during a private meeting with the
leaders of a Latin American religious group.
Coverage of the comment in
the press and in social media underscored the sensitivities that persist
among Catholics on issues related to homosexuality.
While the Catholic Church officially maintains that homosexual
relations are sinful, many Catholics in the U.S. have a more accepting
view.
A recent survey
by the Pew Research Center found that more than seven-in-ten U.S.
Catholics (71%) say homosexuality should be accepted by society.
Just a
third (33%) say they believe homosexual behavior is a sin, down from
nearly half who said this in 2003.
However, fully half (54%) of American
Catholics say there is at least some conflict between their personal
religious beliefs and homosexuality, with 42% saying there is “a lot” of
conflict.
The conflict over religion and homosexuality spills over into the
views of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population toward
the Catholic Church.
A recent Pew Research survey of the LGBT community
found that nearly eight-in-ten LGBT adults (79%) perceive the Catholic
Church as unfriendly toward them, 16% say it is neutral and just 4% say
it is friendly.
Among LGBT Catholics in particular, two-thirds (66%) say the church
is unfriendly toward them, while 26% say it is neutral and just 6% see
it as friendly.
LGBT Protestants and those who are religiously
unaffiliated are more negative in their perceptions of the Catholic
Church, with 74% of the Protestants and 84% of the unaffiliated saying
the Catholic Church is unfriendly toward them.