Pope Francis Is Already Being Attacked By Christian Conservatives For His Pro-LGBT Statement

Pope Francis spoke with reporters on the papal plane on a return flight back from Armenia, where he said that the Roman Catholic Church and Christians should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they’ve been treated.

According to a Reuters report, Pope Francis said that homosexuals “should not be discriminated against. They should be respected, accompanied pastorally.”

“I think that the Church not only should apologize… to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologize to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by (being forced to) work. It must apologize for having blessed so many weapons.”

The report also says that he reframed his famous “Who am I to judge?” comment about gays from 2013.

“The question is: if a person who has that condition, who has good will, and who looks for God, who are we to judge?”

The report continues on Pope Francis’ response per his spokesman, but the Pope is already being attacked on social media.

For instance, one Twitter user generalized from an unconfirmed conspiracy site where there is no doubt that Just Willie’s generalization on anything Pope Francis has to say will apply to his statement on homosexuals.

Another Twitter user re-spun the Pope’s statement into another topic.

Some responses from social media continued with references to Pope Francis being the anti-Christ.

One Facebook user even suggested an apology was not in order since they claim that “gays” are not Christians.

Pope Francis’ recent statements come only a few weeks since the Orlando shootings at a gay nightclub, which Republicans have already politicized into what many consider to be anti-Islamic or even anti-gay rhetoric.

The responses through social media already hint at a building up of potential backlash from more conservatives as well as orthodox Catholics, who have dismissed the Pope since there were signs that he would do things differently.

Other groups who consider themselves “Christians” such as the Westboro Baptist Church, who are known for protesting funerals just as they did with the recent mentioned shootings — which The Inquisitr covered — with “God Hates F**s” signs, and similar groups will likely respond.

The Inquisitr also reported on one conservative church leader from the Graham family, who said that the transgender bathroom laws were a sign that God had turned his back to the world.

Republican politicians have attempted to say that transgender and the gay community should be respected, but many have come out in a more pragmatic approach with what they believe, that the bible tells them that homosexuality is not a Christian virtue, which matches the one response from social media referenced above.

This has been the case with Republicans supporting discrimination against same-sex couples by those who believe they can deny them services.

This week, President Obama made the Stonewall Inn a monument for gay rights, a site that was “ground zero” for the beatings and arrests of homosexuals decades ago.

As Inquisitr reports, Breitbart conservatives were fuming over the monument.

Many sources and many people, including Pope Francis, have condemned the shootings in Orlando.

The Holy See Press Office released a statement on his behalf after the incident made headlines.

“The terrible massacre that has taken place in Orlando, with its dreadfully high number of innocent victims, has caused in Pope Francis, and in all of us, the deepest feelings of horror and condemnation, of pain and turmoil before this new manifestation of homicidal folly and senseless hatred.”

An op-ed about the incident published in Inquisitr claimed Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio’s statements were hypocritical while the same source reported that another Republican politician was being insensitive by holding a giveaway for a rifle, similar to the one the shooter used at the nightclub.

Just a few states away, another Republican felt the backlash of quoting scripture through their twitter account hours after the incident happened, which offended many people who felt he too was being insensitive.

In a way, what many feel is insensitive could also be what Pope Francis is referring to in his recent statement?

[Image by Tiziana Fabi/Pool photo via AP]