An openly gay survivor of clerical sexual abuse has received some words of kindness from the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Juan Carlos Cruz, who was abused by 87-year-old Chilean priest Fernando Karadima, reportedly opened up to Pope Francis a fortnight ago during a private conversation.
"Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter," Pope Francis told Cruz, reports The Guardian.
He continued: "God made you like this and loves you like this and I don’t care. The pope loves you like this. You have to be happy with who you are."
Karadima was found guilty of abuse by the Vatican in 2011.
Christopher Lamb, the Vatican correspondent for Catholic newspaper the Tablet, told The Guardian that while he didn't think Pope Francis had changed his teachings, he was "demonstrating an affirmation of gay Catholics, something that has been missing over the years in Rome”.
Pope Francis has previously displayed a growing acceptance to members of the LGBTIQ+ community, famously declaring "Who am I to judge?" in 2013.
However, the Vatican later undid any good will when it reaffirmed its ban on gay priests, saying: “The Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture'."
The 2016 statement continued: “Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women."
Comments made by Pope Francis to Juan Carlos Cruz are yet to be verified by the Vatican.
