In a documentary released on Wednesday, Pope Francis amiably participated in a no-holds-barred conversation with young adults, accepting both questions and rebukes on a variety of topics, including LGBT rights, abortion, the porn industry, sex, and faith and sex abuse within the Catholic Church.
The documentary captures a meeting in Rome last year between ten young Spanish speakers from around the globe and the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics. He met with an array of blunt questions and challenges, tearful personal stories and frank affirmations.
“Do you know Tinder? asked Celia, one of the participants. To this the pope replied he does not know how to use it, but responds: “It’s funny, young people have an eagerness to meet and that’s a good thing.”
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The 86-year-old pontiff made the comment in the Disney production “The Pope Answers”.
Francis was also asked whether he knew what a ‘non-binary’ person is, and he replied affirmatively. He said that LGBT people must be welcomed by the Catholic Church.
“All persons are the children of God, all persons. God does not reject anybody, God is a father. And I have no right to expel anyone from the Church,” he said.
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On abortion, Francis said priests should be “merciful” towards women who have terminated a pregnancy, but said the practice remains unacceptable.
“It good to call things by their name. It is one thing to accompany the person who had one (abortion), quite another to justify the act,” he said.
Francis also praised the virtues of sex in the documentary and described it as “one of the most beautiful things” that God has given to humans.
