Pope Francis Tells Parents To Accept Their Children If They’re LGBTQIA+

Pope Francis has told Catholics around the world to accept their children if they are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

The head of the Catholic Church has delivered mixed messages about lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual and other gender non-conforming people in the past.

During his weekly general address at the Vatican's Pope Paul VI audience hall, the Pontiff noted how mums and dads encounter loads of tricky situations when they're raising a child.

One of those situations, he said, could be when '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'.

His words go against the Church's belief that homosexual acts are 'intrinsically disordered'.

They also go against the decision made last year that banned Catholic priests from blessing gay couples because God 'cannot bless sin'.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's top doctrinal office, released a statement saying: "It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage, as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex.

"There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family."

So, the Pope's most recent remarks essentially tell parents not to chastise their LGBTQIA+ child, but they also won't be able to have an easy life outside the family if they stay with the Church.

In his address, he also told parents to embrace their children if they are stricken with an illness or if they have a disability.

His Holiness also expressed sympathy to mums and dads of 'children who have fun with their cars and end up in accidents' or are sent to prison.

"It made me so tender when in Buenos Aires I went by bus in front of the prison and there was a queue of people who had to enter for visits. And there were mothers there," he said, according to NCR.

"This mother faced with the problem of a son who made a mistake, does not leave him alone."

He also noted the escalating situation in Ukraine, saying: "They have suffered hunger, they have suffered so much cruelty and they deserve peace."

"May the prayers and invocations that are being raised today up to heaven touch the minds and hearts of those responsible on earth," he continued. Please, never war."