内容摘要：Similarly, the document said trans adults, even if they had gender-transition surgery, could serve as godparents under certain conditions. That reversed an earlier outright ban.

Similarly, the document said trans adults, even if they had gender-transition surgery, could serve as godparents under certain conditions. That reversed an earlier outright ban.

of the three-week synod, there was no mention of LGBTQ+ people — reflecting the influence of conservatives who opposed Francis’ overtures to that community.During the synod, the pope met with a small delegation from the Maryland-based New Ways Ministry, which advocates on behalf of LGBTQ+ Catholics in the U.S.

According to the group’s executive director, Francis DeBernardo, the pope urged them never to lose hope — a message DeBernardo repeated after being disappointed by the synod’s outcome.“The Catholic LGBTQ+ community must take Pope Francis’ message to heart,” he said. “The report’s shortcomings are an invitation to speak anew about their joys, their sorrows, and their faith. … Now is not a time to despair.”Another disappointment came in May 2024,

after Italian media quoted unnamed bishops saying he jokingly used the vulgar term “faggotness” while speaking in Italian during a meeting. He had used the term in reaffirming the Vatican’s ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained priests.This week, DeBernardo looked back at Francis’ legacy mostly with appreciation, even while acknowledging disappointments.

“Francis was not only the first pope to use the word ‘gay’ when speaking about LGBTQ+ people, he was the first pope to speak lovingly and tenderly to them,” DeBernardo wrote. “His kind words of welcome to this community, traditionally marginalized in the church, rang loudly around the globe.”

It became clear early in Francis’ papacy that he was going to articulate a gentler, more tolerant approach to LGBTQ+ people than any previous pope. The initial high-profile moment came in 2013 -– during the first airborne news conference of his pontificate — with his memorableIncreased eligibility checks and red tape related to work requirements may result in some people wrongly getting booted off, said Eduardo Conrado, the president of Ascension, a health care system that operates hospitals across 10 states.

That could spell trouble for rural hospitals, in particular, who will see their small pool of patients go from paying for their emergency care with Medicaid coverage to not paying anything at all. Hospitals could have to eat their costs.“Adding work requirements is not just a policy change, it’s a shift away from the purpose of the program,” Conrado said of the rule.

That is also a concern for Sandy Heller, of Marion, Massachusetts.Her 37-year-old son, Craig, has Down syndrome and other complicated medical needs.