Why is "Pope Francis and LGBTQ topics" trending?

Wikipedia Overview

Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025, adopted a significantly more accommodating tone on LGBTQ topics than his predecessors. In July 2013, his televised "Who am I to judge?" statement was widely reported in the international press, becoming one of his most famous statements on LGBTQ people. In other public statements, Francis emphasised the need to accept, welcome, and accompany LGBTQ people, including LGBTQ children, and denounced laws criminalising homosexuality. While he reiterated traditional Catholic teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman, he had supported same-sex civil unions as legal protections for same-sex couples. Under his pontificate, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed that transgender people can be baptised, and allowed the blessing of same-sex couples in the document Fiducia supplicans. Francis privately met many LGBTQ people and activists. In 2013, Francis was named as Person of the Year by The Advocate, an American LGBTQ magazine.