Pope says Church is open to everyone, including LGBT people

(Patria) - Pope Francis says the Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the gay community, and that it is obliged to accompany them on their personal spiritual journey, but within its rules, Reuters reports.

Speaking to reporters on the plane returning to Rome from Portugal, he also said his health was good after abdominal hernia surgery in June. He said his stitches had been removed, but he would have to wear an abdominal bandage for another two or three months until his muscles strengthen.

Returning from the Catholic World Youth Day festival in Portugal, the 86-year-old pope appeared in good form as he answered questions for about half an hour at his usual freewheeling post-trip news conference while sitting in the back of the plane.

One reporter reminded him that during the trip he said the Church was open to "everyone, everyone, everyone" and asked if it was not incoherent that some, such as women and homosexuals, do not have the same rights and cannot receive some sacraments. This was an apparent reference to women not being allowed to become priests through the sacrament of holy orders and same-sex couples not being allowed to marry, which is also a sacrament.

"The Church is open to everyone, but there are laws that regulate life within the Church," he said.

"According to the law, they cannot participate in (some) sacraments. That does not mean it is closed. Each person meets God in their own way within the Church," he added.

He said that officials in the Church must accompany all people, including those who do not follow the rules, with patience and a mother's love.

The Church teaches that women cannot become priests because Jesus chose only men as his apostles. The Church does not allow same-sex marriages or even blessings for same-sex couples, but Francis supports civil legislation that gives same-sex couples rights in areas such as pensions, health insurance and inheritance. It teaches that attraction to the same sex is not sinful, but same-sex acts are.

Since the beginning of his papacy, Francis has tried to make the Church more open and less judgmental, including towards members of the LGBT community, but without changing teachings that call those with same-sex attraction to be chaste. During one event during the trip to Portugal, he told the crowd that the Church has room for everyone, "including those who sin, who fall or who struggle," and led the mass with the chant "Todos, todos, todos!" (Everyone, everyone, everyone!).

In another part of the news conference, speaking about young people, he said: "Who among us has not made a moral mistake at some point in their lives?"

Francis has launched a series of reforms since becoming pope 10 years ago, including giving more roles to women, especially in high positions in the Vatican, but faces a delicate balance between attracting more liberal believers and upsetting conservatives.

On the plane, he said he was rejuvenated by what he saw at the Catholic World Youth Day festival in Portugal, including the orderly nature of the crowd and its size. About 1.5 million people attended his final Mass on Sunday in a park in the Portuguese capital. Many faithful slept outdoors after attending a vigil there on Saturday evening, and gathered in great heat.