A SLIP OF THE TONGUE OR A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME?

By Monica Migliorino Miller | New Oxford Review. November 2025.

Monica Migliorino Miller, a Contributing Editor of the NOR, is Director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and author of Abandoned: The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars and, most recently, In the Beginning: Crucial Lessons for Our World from the First Three Chapters of Genesis.

“You are in the wrong church, you’re not A TRUE Shepherd, you’re one of many wolfs in sheep’s clothing. If you want to change the centuries of tradition and sound doctrine and sound magister of the HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH, you’re a Protestant reformist modernist…. You believe in a god who accepts sin, but doesn’t accept repentance and penance. You believe in a god who celebrates the sinner and the sin, I’m sorry, this is not my GOD. FROM: A sinner like everyone else, repentant and with a love for the true Church of Christ, which made me return and accept my misery, the Church did not applaud my sin; on the contrary, it made me detest it, hate it and makes me work hard to achieve my SALVATION, which obviously your god could never give to me or to anybody.”

The above quote is one of several posted to Fr. James Martin’s Instagram page, taking the Jesuit priest to task for lauding statements Pope Leo XIV made in an interview with CruxNow.com Senior Correspondent Elise Ann Allen (Sept. 18). Martin is, of course, well known for his support of the LGBTQ+ community and his advocacy for changing Church doctrine on sexual morality.

The quote gives a hint of the controversy the interview sparked. Allen asked the Pope if he would continue the tone set by his predecessor, Francis, regarding LGBTQ+ issues. Leo replied, “I think we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question. I find it highly unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the Church’s doctrine in terms of what the Church teaches about sexuality, what the Church teaches about marriage, [will change]” (brackets in original).

Leo’s comments are troubling in that they easily can be interpreted as: Once Catholics change their attitude toward the Church’s doctrine that bans homosexual acts, the Church can consider changing her doctrine to approve such behavior. Though we cannot expect such a change “in the near future,” at some point the Church could indeed change her doctrine regarding the objective immorality of homosexual acts.

To be fair, here is the exchange in its entirety:

Allen: Just a quick follow up on the LGBTQ+ point, it can be a very ideological issue. However, beyond any ideological views, I think people felt this was just spoken about in a different way, with a different tone, under Francis. What will your own approach be?

Leo XIV: Well, I don’t have a plan at the moment. I was asked about that already a couple of times during these first couple of months, about the LGBT issue. I recall something that a cardinal from the eastern part of the world said to me before I was pope, about “the western world is fixated, obsessed with sexuality.” A person’s identity, for some people, is all about sexual identity, and for many people in other parts of the world, that’s not a primary issue in terms of how we should deal with one another. I confess, that’s on the back of my mind, because, as we’ve seen at the synod, any issue dealing with the LGBTQ questions is highly polarizing within the Church. For now, because of what I’ve already tried to demonstrate and live out in terms of my understanding of being pope at this time in history, I’m trying not to continue to polarize or promote polarization in the Church.

What I’m trying to say is what Francis said very clearly when he would say, “todos, todos, todos.” Everyone’s invited in, but I don’t invite a person in because they are or are not of any specific identity. I invite a person in because they are a son or daughter of God. You’re all welcome, and let’s get to know one another and respect one another. At some point, when specific questions will come up… People want the Church doctrine to change, want attitudes to change. I think we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question. I find it highly unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the Church’s doctrine in terms of what the Church teaches about sexuality, what the Church teaches about marriage, [will change]. (ellipses in original)

Leo followed this up with comments that apparently were intended to mitigate the damage.

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