<p><strong>Boston MA March 13 2013. </strong>DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke has made the following statement on the election of Pope Francis:</p> <p>&ldquo;We join our fellow Catholics in praying for the ministry and leadership of Pope Francis.&nbsp; We applaud the cardinals for their recognition of the rising energy of the Catholic Church in the global South and the new possibilities and perspectives that may come from that region.</p> <p>We are encouraged by Pope Francis&rsquo; clear commitment to the poor and to the social justice tradition at the heart of our faith. At the same time we acknowledge that as archbishop and cardinal the man who is now Pope Francis has made some very harsh and inflammatory statements about lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people. We recognize that sometimes this new job on which he embarks can change the man called to it. We call on our new Pope to recognize that he is now head of a Church that includes a huge number of LGBT people their families and friends around the world.&nbsp; We invite him to take the time to learn about our lives our faith and our families before he makes any papal pronouncements about us and we stand ready to enter into dialogue with him at any time.&rdquo;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>