DignityUSA joins many around the world in offering our prayers and best wishes to Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, as he begins his service to our church and the world in this new role. This election appears to signal a willingness to continue building on Pope Francis’s commitment to synodality and social justice.

We pray that the needs of those whom our church has historically marginalized, including LGBTQ+ people and their families, will continue to be heard and addressed by the Vatican and other church leaders. We express concern with the former Cardinal’s statements—as reported in the New York Times—in a 2012 address to bishops, where he stated that Western news media and popular culture fostered “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel” including the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.” We note that this statement was made during the papacy of Benedict XVI, when doctrinal adherence appeared to be expected. In addition, the voices of LGBTQ people were rarely heard at that level of church leadership. We pray that Pope Leo XIV will demonstrate a willingness to listen and grow as he begins his new role as the leader of the global Church.

We also hope that Pope Leo XIV will have the moral clarity that will enable our church to continue to confront the many critical issues facing the entire global community, as well as to address the injustices and inequities that continue to plague our church itself.

Pope Leo XIV’s stated commitment to synodality is a positive sign that we might see progress towards greater inclusion in our Church. DignityUSA recommits to our mission of achieving justice, equality, and full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in our church and society. We offer the experience we have gained in doing this work for over 55 years as a resource to Pope Leo XIV and hope that effective partnerships between church officials, DignityUSA, and other affirming LGBTQ+ Catholic groups and ministries will speed the achievement of this goal.

DignityUSA is the world’s oldest organization of LGBTQ+ Catholics, our families, friends and allies. We have been working to help our church better address the needs of our community since 1969.