Pope Francis' 5 Most-Controversial Comments
'Who Am I to Judge?'
One of the most widely circulated and quoted remarks made by Pope Francis came from an interview he gave following the 2013 World Youth Day event.
Francis was asked whether there was a gay lobby at the Vatican. The pope responded, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"
Francis' comment was hailed by LGBT advocacy organizations and mainstream news outlets as a sign of a Catholic Church that was changing its views.
The LGBT publication The Advocate gave Francis their person of the year award and some even speculated that the Church might become more open to blessing homosexual unions.
Many celebrating the quote did not note the rest of the response, in which Francis said one must "distinguish between a person who is gay and someone who makes a gay lobby," adding that "a gay lobby isn't good."
The Vatican under Francis has continued to uphold the teaching of the Church on homosexuality. For example, in November 2014 at a major gathering in Rome, Francis said "the complementarity of man and woman ... is at the root of marriage and family."
