Much has been written about the passing of Pope Francis, particularly his empathy and care for the most marginalized in society. In this vein, he was a clear and consistent voice on several issues the ACLU of Ohio champions, like abolishing the death penalty, welcoming immigrants and refugees, and increasing acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community in the Catholic Church (relative to the Church’s historic exclusion of the community).
Pope Francis' willingness to prioritize these issues represented a significant step forward for efforts to abolish capital punishment worldwide, advance more humane immigration policies, and uplift the global LGBTQ+ community.
At the same time, we must acknowledge that under his papacy the Church doubled down on its opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage, a disappointing development especially given that 60 percent of U.S. Catholics support abortion access and 70 percent support same-sex marriage being legal.
On the Death Penalty
- In 2018, Francis officially rewrote the Catholic Catechism to deem the death penalty “inadmissible” in all cases.
On Immigrants and Refugees
- Francis’s first visit outside Rome in July 2013 was to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, where thousands of migrants and refugees had gathered in the hopes of emigrating to Europe.
- “These brothers and sisters of ours were trying to leave difficult situations to find a little serenity and peace; they sought a better place for themselves and their families, but instead they found death… How many times do those who seek this not find understanding, reception or solidarity?”
- This visit set the tone for his unyielding support for migrants and refugees throughout his tenure. Most recently, he doubled down in February 2025 in a letter to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), addressing “the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of…mass deportations.”
- Specifically, he said that “the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness."
On the LGBTQ+ Community
- It is no secret that the Catholic Church historically has been a very unwelcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community. Francis, though, struck a more inclusive and supportive tone than any of his predecessors.
- When asked very early in his papacy about the sexual orientation of priests, he responded “who am I to judge?” He went further in saying that “we shouldn’t marginalize people for this [their sexual orientation]. They must be integrated into society."
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Under Francis, the Vatican also made clear that transgender people can be baptized, serve both as godparents, and be witnesses at Catholic weddings. He also approved same-sex marriage blessings by priests.
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Unfortunately, his stances fell well short of truly welcoming queer and trans people into the Church. The Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage remains, and it continues to push harmful, medically inaccurate views of transgender and gender-expansive people.
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However, we can hope that these very modest strides will help lay the groundwork for full inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community, in Catholicism and across all faiths.
Although the Church remains out of step on the issues of abortion and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, among others, Pope Francis’s and the ACLU’s overlapping efforts on certain issues reinforce the need to preserve the rights and dignity of ALL people, and to find common ground with unlikely allies on key civil liberties topics.
