Do not condemn your children for their sexual orientation, Pope Francis tells parents in unscripted comments during his weekly audience.   Francis says parents of gay children should give them support, not condemnation while referring to difficulties that parents could face in raising a child.

Those issues included “parents who see different sexual orientations in their children and how to handle this, how to accompany their children, and not hide behind an attitude of condemnation”, Francis said on Wednesday.

He has previously said LGBTIQ+ people have a right to be accepted by their families as children and siblings.

He has also said that while the church could not accept same-sex marriage, it can support civil union laws aimed at giving partners joint rights in areas of pensions, health care, and inheritance issues.

Last year, the Vatican’s doctrinal office issued a document saying that Catholic priests cannot bless same-sex unions, a ruling that greatly disappointed LGBTIQ+ Catholics.

In some countries, such as the United States and Germany, parishes, and ministers had begun blessing same-sex unions in place of marriage, and there have been calls for bishops to de facto institutionalize these.

Conservatives in the 1.3 billion-member Church have said the Pope, who has sent notes of appreciation to priests and nuns who minister to LGBTIQ+ Catholics, is giving mixed signals on homosexuality, confusing some of the faithful.

Last month, a Vatican department apologized for “causing pain to the entire LGBTQ community” by removing from its website a link to resource material from a Catholic gay rights advocacy group in preparation for a Vatican meeting in 2023 on the Church’s future direction.

The Church teaches that LGBTIQ+ people should be treated with respect and that, while same-sex acts are sinful, same-sex tendencies are not.

In summary, Pope Francis is not in any way encouraging the act of homosexuality, but rather he is advising their parents not to abandon them despite their wrongdoings.