VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has moved to reassure Catholics that the Church’s stance on gay marriage and women deacons will remain unchanged, even as he pledged to promote a more welcoming spirit.
In his first major interview since his election four months ago, the 70-year-old pontiff said it was “highly unlikely, certainly in the near future,” that doctrine on sexuality or marriage would shift.
His comments were published Thursday in the book Pope Leo XIV: Global Citizen, Missionary of the 21st Century by American journalist Elise Ann Allen.
“People want the church doctrine to change, want attitudes to change,” Leo acknowledged. “But we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question.”
The remarks mark a deliberate contrast in tone with his predecessor, Pope Francis, whose efforts to open the Church to modern realities—such as authorizing blessings for same-sex couples in limited cases—sparked sharp resistance among conservatives in Africa, the United States, and beyond.
While emphasizing support for “the traditional family … father, mother, and children,” Leo said he shared Francis’s desire to ensure all feel welcomed in the Church.
“I don’t invite a person in because they are or are not of any specific identity,” he said.
The pope also dampened expectations of progress on women deacons, an issue Francis had encouraged theologians to explore.
“At the moment I don’t have an intention of changing the teaching of the Church on the topic,” he noted, though he said he was open to continued dialogue.
On clerical sexual abuse, Leo described the scandal as “a real crisis” but cautioned against making it the defining theme of his papacy.
“Accused priests are innocent until proven guilty and must be protected as such,” he said, stressing the Church should not “focus exclusively on this issue.”
Reflecting on his new role at the helm of the Catholic Church, the first US-born pontiff admitted the adjustment had been profound.
“It’s not an easy thing to give up everything that you were and had in the past and take on a role that’s 24 hours a day, basically, and so public,” he said.
He expressed little concern about the Vatican’s financial difficulties, citing his background in economic matters, but voiced alarm about widening global inequality.
Referring to recent reports that Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire, he warned: “If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”
