This is the conclusion of a study by US sociologist Lucas Sharma, which was published in the journal "Sociology of Religion".
According to the study, priests with a higher regard for the late Pope are less likely to view same-sex sex as reprehensible in any case and are less likely to believe that gay men should not become priests.
The study is based on an analysis of data on US priests collected in 2020 and 2021. So far, according to Sharma, this data has only revealed that a rather negative attitude towards homosexuality among priests shows the expected correlation with politically and ecclesiastically conservative positions.
The data also shows that the later priests are ordained, the more conservative they are on average. The influence of attitudes towards Pope Francis and the associated more positive attitude towards homosexuality had not yet been recognised.
"I suspect that this reflects an adoption of Pope Francis' pastoral approach, regardless of whether someone has recently been ordained as a priest, is politically conservative, heterosexual or religiously traditional," says the sociologist.
Sexual ethical issues not addressed did not influence him
Over the course of his pontificate (2013-2025), Pope Francis has repeatedly expressed his appreciation of homosexuals without changing the teachings of the Church, which always considers homosexual acts to be a sin.
According to Sharma, it is striking that when it comes to attitudes towards other sexual ethical issues on which Francis has not spoken out, there are no particularities among the priests who appreciate Francis. They do not differ from other priests in their assessment of premarital sex, contraception or masturbation.
Sharma emphasises that it is not possible to tell from the data whether attitudes towards the Pope are the cause of positions on homosexuality or vice versa.
It is also possible that the correlation is due to the fact that priests with a more positive attitude towards homosexuality evaluate Francis' pastoral approach more favourably because of these positions.