Boston’s Catholic remember Francis’s compassion for LGBT communitypublished at 22:50 British Summer Time
Alice Hutton, BBC News
Reporting from Boston
Beata, a Catholic who lives in Boston, says she is grateful Pope Frances embraced the LGBT community
Mourners at Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross tell the BBC that it was Pope Francis’s compassion towards LGBT people they most admired.
Anna, a 20-something immigrant from the Philippines, says: “When he became a pope, I became more open and accepting.”
Mary, 70, and Tom, 71, were visiting from Chicago to watch their daughter run today’s Boston Marathon. They stopped by the church to “say a prayer for the Pope”.
“We have a gay son, so that was important that he at least reached out,” says Mary. “We hope that somebody that replaces him has the same values… to be more inclusive, just more human.”
Beata, 70-year-old Polish immigrant attending mass with her granddaughter says: “My daughter is a lesbian, and I’m so happy this Pope is not against gay (people).”
Francis, who once commented “Who am I to judge” gay people, apologised last year after reports emerged that he used extremely derogatory language towards gay men.
Boston’s position as a major centre of US Catholic life began more than 100 years ago, with an influx of Irish escaping famine in the 19th Century.
The Archdiocese of Boston – which today includes about 1.8 million people – garnered intense media attention in the early 2000s following the Boston Globe’s investigation into widespread sexual abuse by clergy.
