Pope says LGBT+ are welcome in Church

 (Photo: Vatican News)

Pope Francis has given his views on LGBT+ relationships and a number of other hot button issues in an interview for a new Disney+ documentary. 

The 86-year-old was interviewed by 10 young people for 'The Pope: Answers' documentary.

They asked him his views on a range of issues that matter to them. 

These included asking him if he knew what a non-binary person was, which he said he did. 

When he was asked about LGBT+ people, he said they were welcome in the Church.

"All persons are the children of God, all persons. God does not reject anybody, God is a father. And I have no right to expel anyone from the Church," he said.

On abortion, the Pope suggested a "merciful" approach but stressed that this did not equate to approval. 

"It good to call things by their name. It is one thing to accompany the person who had one, quite another to justify the act," he said.

Asked about sexual matters, the Pope said that sex was a beautiful gift from God but that masturbation deviated from this. 

"Sex is one of the beautiful things that God has given to the human person," he said. 

"To express yourself sexually is a richness. So anything that detracts from real sexual expression lessens you and depletes this richness."

He thanked the young people for their questions, saying, "I learned a lot from you, it has done me a lot of good."

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