Pope Francis Eats Lunch with Gay, Transgender and HIV- positive Inmates at Italian Prison

In yet another groundbreaking move, Pope
Francis yesterday Saturday enjoyed lunch with
inmates  of an Italian prison – and along the
line, gay and transgender inmates were invited
to join.
While on a visit to Naples, Italy, Pope Francis
visited the Giuseppe Salvia Detention Center in
Poggiorale, outside of Naples. And even though
it was not on his original schedule, insisted on
the visit including lunch with inmates.
According to the AssociatedPress, around 90
inmates randomly chosen by lottery, attended
the lunch, and that group included 10 inmates
from a section of the prison reserved for gay
and
transgender inmates, and inmates who are
HIV-positive. In addition to the prison visit,
the pope spoke to residents in Scampia, a
neighborhood in Naples, and encouraged
citizens to resist the “easy earnings or
dishonest income” of the Mafia and the drug
trafficking trade.
Since assuming the papacy in 2013, Francis has
worked to shift the tone of the Catholic
Church’s message toward gays and lesbians to
be more progressive. In 2013, the pope
famously said “Who am I to judge?” when
discussing LGBT members of the Catholic
community. Recently, gay Catholics were given
seats at Pope Francis’ weekly general audience.
And earlier this year, a Spanish transgender
man said he had a meeting with the pope – a
first for the pontiff.
However, while the pope seems to be taking
small steps toward welcoming the church’s
LGBT members, Francis  has still reaffirmed his
support for “traditional” marriage. In January,
on a visit to the Phillipines, he remarked that
“powerful forces” threaten to “disfigure God’s
plan for creation.” Many people interpreted
these remarks to be a reference to same-sex
marriage.