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New Delhi: People who criminalize homosexuality are “wrong”, Pope Francis said in a letter published on Saturday, news agency AFP reported.
In an interview that was published earlier on Wednesday, the pope had said being homosexual was “not a crime … but it’s a sin”.
In a letter written to a Jesuit priest, Pope Francis said he had wanted in the interview “to clarify that it (homosexuality) is not a crime, in order to stress that criminalisation is neither good nor just”.
“When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin,” he wrote.
Notably, the pope’s comments on homosexuality come ahead of a trip to Africa next week, where criminalization of homosexuality is common.
The Pope was responding to a letter from US priest James Martin, who asked to clarify his comments during an interview with news agency AP.
Francis’ letter, written in Spanish, was translated to English and published.
“I would tell whoever wants to criminalize homosexuality that they are wrong,” the pope wrote.
Earlier in the AP interview, Francis had said being homosexual was “not a crime”.
“It’s not a crime … but it’s a sin,” he said, adding, “It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another.”
In his letter to Martin, Francis further clarified that his comments about “sin” were referring to an overall moral teaching within the Catholic Church.
“When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin,” he wrote, adding, “Of course, one must also consider the circumstances, which may decrease or eliminate fault.
“As you can see, I was repeating something in general. I should have said ‘It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside marriage,” he added.
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