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Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia

Lufthansa is commemorating Pride Month

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

FRANCE

Arturo López Gavito, former vice president of marketing at Disney Mexico, Mexican music producer, manager, and radio host with transgender Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón, an outspoken advocate for the global trans community in August 2022. (Photo courtesy of Karla Sofía Gascón’s Facebook page)

Transgender actress Karla Sofía Gascón has filed a legal complaint against French far-right politician Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, after the Reconquête Party leader posted a tweet decrying the fact that Gascón was awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. The complaint has been joined with complaints from six French LGBTQ advocacy groups.

Gascón has been making waves since her international breakthrough performance in the musical gangster film “Emilia Pérez” at the Cannes Film Festival last month. In the film, she plays a cartel leader who hires a lawyer played by Zoe Saldaña to help her flee Mexico with her wife, played by Selena Gomez, so that she can get gender-affirming surgery so she can live as a woman. 

The Spanish actress became the first trans woman to win the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.

After her win, Maréchal-Le Pen posted a tweet that said Gascón’s victory came at a cost for women.

“Therefore, a man receives the prize for … best actress at Cannes. Progress for the left is the erasure of women and mothers,” Le Pen posted on May 26.

Gascón’s lawyer, Etienne Deshoulières, told Agence France-Presse she had filed a legal complaint for “sexist insult on the basis of gender identity.”

The organizations Mousse, Stop Homophobie, Familles LGBT, Adheos, Quazar, and Fédération LBGTQ+ have all filed similar complaints over Maréchal-Le Pen’s tweet.

Maréchal-Le Pen has responded to the complaint by asserting that she will not be silenced.

She is currently on the campaign trail leading the far-right Reconquête Party in elections to the European Parliament scheduled for June 9. She comes from a long pedigree of far-right French politicians who have all been opponents of LGBTQ rights. Her grandfather, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founded the far-right Front National party, which is now led by her aunt Marine Le Pen as the National Rally Party. She has frequently spoken of her desire to repeal same-sex marriage. 

Before this all blew up, Gascón told a press conference at Cannes about her own experiences with discrimination as a trans woman. 

“People who are trans are subjected to insults or death threats because they exist. In Mexico, there are harsh phrases when addressing trans people. It can be gross,” she said. “I think we should be taken for what we are. We have to continue fighting for our rights. We have our body and we’re allowed to change it.” 

“We’re just normal people … I think in the world, you should be treated with respect.”

In addition to Gascón’s acting award, “Emilia Pérez” scored tremendous reviews from critics at Cannes. A U.S. release date has not yet been announced.

SPAIN

(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

The coalition of LGBTQ groups that were working together to guide the 2026 Gay Games in Valencia, Spain, has pulled out of the event in protest over what they’ve called a hijacking of the project by the city’s newly elected government, which includes a far-right anti-LGBTQ party in the governing coalition. 

Spain’s third-largest city was chosen as the games’ host in November 2021, beating out Munich, Germany, and Guadalajara, Mexico. Originally Valencia’s Gay Games organization was led by a coalition of local LGBTQ groups in partnership with the city council.

But that changed last year, when the center-right People’s Party and the far-right Vox party took over the city government. The LGBTQ groups allege that the city reduced their role on the board in an attempt to take over the games, and that the new government has been hostile to LGBTQ people. They also say that the government has censored LGBTQ books, plays, and films.

On May 27, the LGBTQ+ groups — Lambda, Avegal and Dracs, and the umbrella organization València Diversitat Foundation — announced they were pulling out of the games and encouraging the Federation of Gay Games to withdraw from Valencia and award the 2026 games to another city. 

 “After the last local elections, the Popular Party and Vox have promoted an entire campaign of attacks and cuts in rights against members of the group,” FVD Secretary Jorge Garcia told Spain’s El Salto newspaper. “We have seen how children’s books were withdrawn or plays and films were canceled simply for addressing LGTBI themes or for showing people from the group.”

FVD is calling on the Federation of Gay Games to move the event to another city that is more LGBTQ-friendly, suggesting Munich as a possible alternate venue as it was one of the original bidders for the 2026 event. They’re also saying that unless FVD moves the event, they will “call for a boycott at the local, national, and international level.”

But so far, the federation has said it’s not budging.

In response to the pullout, the federation issued a statement saying that the games would go ahead in Valencia and that the federation has faith that the city government is hosting the games for the right reasons.

“After confidently receiving assurances from the València City Council about their commitment to the organization of the event, the FGG can confirm that the Gay Games will continue to be held in Valencia in 2026,” the statement reads. “The FGG has met various times with them to gain assurances from them about their commitment to the funding of the event, the availability of government-owned sports and culture venues, and the confirmation that participants will be able to attend and compete as their authentic selves.” 

This isn’t the first time the Gay Games has experienced turmoil. 

After being postponed a year due to the pandemic, last year’s Gay Games Hong Kong was divided and co-hosted with Guadalajara, Mexico, amid concerns about the worsening human rights and democracy situation in China, and deepening opposition from some local officials who were more closely aligned with Beijing.

The far-right Vox party has long been hostile to LGBTQ rights in Spain and has seen its fortunes rise along with other conservative or right-leaning parties across Europe. In Spanish cities and regions where they’ve come into power either alone or in coalition with the People’s Party, it has repealed local laws meant to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination and conversion therapy. On the national level, it has campaigned to repeal same-sex marriage and legal recognition of trans people. 

GERMANY

Lufthansa aircraft maintenance workers at the airline’s main service hanger facilities in Frankfurt, Germany, apply Pride Month markings to a jet in the company’s fleet. (Photo courtesy of Lufthansa)

German airlines Lufthansa is celebrating Pride Month 2024 by spoofing the company’s name with “Lovehansa” on several aircraft in its fleet. On X Deutsche Lufthansa AG wrote: 

“It’s that time of the year where we highlight the importance of openness, tolerance, and equal love. We’ve been coloring the air with Lovehansa for the last two years and will continue to spread the love across borders and skies. Happy Pride Season!

UNITED KINGDOM

Progress Pride flags line Regent Street, the home of fashion, flagships, food, technology, and entertainment in the heart of London. (Photo courtesy of Regent Street/The Crown Estate)

A conservative Christian group has launched a petition calling for the city of Westminster in central London to remove Progress Pride flags from Regent Street, alleging that the flags are divisive, offensive, and “ugly.”

The group Christian Concern has collected more than 20,000 signatures of its 50,000 goal on its CitizenGo petition. The petition is addressed to Westminster City Council Leader Adam Hug and calls on him to “stop authorizing large scale displays of Pride Progress flags in Westminster, in particular Regent Street.”

Progress Pride flags have been strung across Regent Street — home to a world-famous luxury shopping district — for years, and they’re scheduled to return for June and July this year. Regent Street is controlled by the Crown Estates, a semi-public agency that manages the monarch’s property holdings. 

In their letter, Christian Concern says the Progress Pride flags sow division in society.

“They do not promote inclusion — in fact, they exacerbate tensions between people of different characteristics — religions, sexual orientations, and gender identity. Many people experience these flags as an attack on historic, traditional beliefs about sex and gender. They send the message that people holding these views — which are worthy of respect in a democratic society — are not welcome,” the letter says.

In the petition’s explanatory note, Christian Concern alleges the Progress Pride flag is particularly offensive, because it includes colors symbolic of trans people and people of color.

“Rainbow flags are bad enough — but ‘Progress Pride’ flags add transgender stripes — a movement that has done untold damage to gender-questioning children in recent years. They also add brown and black stripes, wrongly conflating racial identity with sexual and gender identities,” it says.

“These flags are particularly offensive, and ugly to boot,” it says. “These divisive, gaudy displays are completely inappropriate for this historic, iconic street at the center of London.”

London’s annual Pride Parade will occur this year on June 29, and as usual, the route will pass through Piccadilly Circus, at the foot of Regent Street.

Pride in London, which organizes the parade, says it expects up to 35,000 people marching this year, making it the largest London Pride ever. The festivities come amid a growing moral panic against trans people in the U.K., fueled by a government that has been increasingly hostile to trans and queer people, and celebrities like JK Rowling, who have made opposing trans rights a key part of their identity.

The march comes just days before national elections, scheduled for July 4, which the governing Conservative Party is widely expected to lose.

RUSSIA

Youth Policy Minister Sergey Burtsev, right, and another official working in youth policy, Andrey Zolotukhin with whom Alex Khinshtein accused of being in a same-sex relationship. (Photo courtesy of Alex Khinshtein/Telegram-VK)

The governor of Russia’s Samara oblast has resigned amid accusations that his government violated Russia’s “LGBT Propaganda” law by appointing staff who were in same-sex relationships, Novaya Gazeta Europe reports

Dmitry Azarov announced his resignation over the Russian social media network Vkontakte on May 28. His move came after several of his government’s officials were arrested on corruption charges, and following several allegations related to the “LGBT propaganda” law. 

Since 2013, Russian law has banned the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relationships” among minors, and in 2022, the law was expanded to ban promotion of LGBTQ rights to people of any age.. Last year, the Russian Supreme Court and the Russian government added the “LGBT movement” to a list of banned extremist movements, intensifying the crackdown on LGBTQ expression.

Alex Khinshtein, a member of the President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party who represents Samara in the Russian parliament, and who authored the original ‘LGBT propaganda law, kicked off a series of allegations against officials in Azarov’s government. 

He alleged that the Youth Policy Minister Sergey Burtsev and another official working in youth policy, Denis Leontovich, were in same-sex relationships. Both denied the allegations, but left their positions shortly after.

The resignations come amid a worsening crackdown on LGBTQ people in Russia. In March, several Moscow gay bars were raided by police, and a man was charged with using extremist symbols after he allegedly used a rainbow flag emoji in a private group chat.

JAPAN

A male couple in Omura City, Nagasaki prefecture, received a residency certificate on May 28, 2024, marking their relationship as “husband” in the section indicating the partner living with the head of the household. During a press conference, Keita Matsuura, 38, expressed his joy, saying, “I want to share this happy news with everyone across the country, especially with many people in similar situations.” (Kyodo News screenshot)

Three cities across Japan announced that they would begin registering same-sex couples the same way that they register heterosexual couples in common-law marriages, the latest advancement in an ongoing struggle for legal recognition of same-sex couples in the East Asian nation.

Omura in Nagasaki prefecture announced the change on May 2, after Keita Matsuura, 38, and Yutaro Fujiyama, 39, made the request to register their relationship.  

It was followed quickly by Kanuma in Tochigi prefecture. Kurayoshi in Tottori prefecture had initiated a similar procedure in October 2023. In all three cities, people in same-sex couples will be listed as “husband” or “wife” on their resident registration cards, with “not yet notified” added in brackets to indicate that the marriage is not officially registered, similar to opposite-sex common-law marriages.

In Japan, common-law heterosexual couples are treated equally to married couples, but it’s not clear yet if that treatment will carry over to same-sex couples who are registered this way. 

“The possibility of obtaining rights equivalent to those of de facto marriages will arise,” Matsuura told Asahi news

Same-sex marriages are not recognized in Japan, although several cases seeking to have it legalized are currently winding their way through district courts on their way to a likely Supreme Court case. Five district courts and one appellate court have found the current ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional, while one has upheld the ban. 

Meanwhile, hundreds of municipalities and 26 of Japan’s 47 prefectures across Japan have created partnership oath registries for same-sex couples. While these registries are not legally binding, they have helped some couples access some services and benefits only available to married couples. 

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Lesotho

LGBTQ activist murdered in Lesotho

Authorities have arrested a suspect in Kabelo Seseli’s death

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Kabelo Seseli (Photo courtesy of Seseli's Facebook page)

Kabelo Seseli, a gay crossdresser and LGBTQ activist in Lesotho, was murdered over the weekend in a suspected homophobic attack.

According to the People’s Matrix Association, a LGBTQ rights organization, Seseli’s body was found with stab wounds on their neck and genitals.

“This was not just a murder, it was a hate-driven, dehumanizing act meant to send a message of fear and rejection to our community,” said the People’s Matrix Association in a statement posted to its Facebook page on April 29. “Kabelo deserved to live. Kabelo deserved dignity, safety, and the freedom to exist without fear, just like every Mosotho.”

The LGBTQ rights group also said it is demanding action, justice, and protection from the government, especially given the fact authorities have arrested a suspect.

“We strongly condemn this act of violence and call on the government of Lesotho and law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable,” said the People’s Matrix Association. “We also urge leaders and the public to reflect on the role of hate speech and social stigma, which continue to incite violence against LGBTI individuals across our country. We demand action.”

Victor Mukasa of Trans and History Intersex Africa also condemned Seseli’s murder.

“Death is a fact of life, but murder is criminal,” said Mukasa. “Murder of people because they are LGBTIQA+ or for belonging to a particular social group is a hate crime.”

Thato Motsieloa, a gay crossdresser and LGBTQ activist, said he was “deeply distraught to learn about the brutal murder of Kabelo Seseli.” Motsieloa said he and Seseli met on Facebook.

“Although we never met in person, we had plans to do so,” said Motsieloa. “The manner of his death is particularly heartbreaking, and the fact that his killers desecrated his body by removing his private parts is utterly heinous. I hope justice is served, and those responsible face the consequences of their horrific actions. My sincerest condolences go out to Kabelo’s family, may his soul rest in eternal peace.”

Lesotho in 2012 decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. Marriage, however, remains limited to heterosexual couples. There have also been sporadic reports of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes since 2012.

The International Commission of Jurists, in partnership with Outright International, a New York-based LGBTQ advocacy group, in 2022 held a workshop with the Lesotho judiciary that focused on human rights for the LGBTQ community.

The judiciary noted LGBTQ people exist, but acknowledged there is no local jurisprudence on their rights, even though the country’s constitution guarantees the right to respect private and family life and freedom from discrimination.

Religious and cultural norms, like in many African countries, play a pivotal role in how society perceives the LGBTQ community. Many people in Lesotho disregard the existence of LGBTQ people, even though the government is trying to make room for the acknowledgment of LGBTQ rights.

Outright International Africa Advocacy Officer Khanyo Farise says the judiciary’s active engagement with the LGBTQ community is an important step towards ensuring LGBTQ rights are upheld.

“Judges and judicial officers play an important part in ensuring access to justice for LGBTIQ+ people, but also have an important role in producing judgments which can advance their human rights,” said Farise.

ICJ Africa Communications and Legal Officer Mulesa Lumina said though the ICJ is encouraged by these developments, particularly the willingness of judiciary members to understand the plight of the community, LGBTQ people continue to face harassment, discrimination, abuse and violence because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We will continue working with partners, such as the People’s Matrix and Outright International, to ensure the enforcement of the country’s obligations under international human rights law, which entitle LGBTIQ persons to the full range of human rights without discrimination,” said Lumina.

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India

LGBTQ Kashmiri students targeted after terrorist attack

26 people killed in Baisaran Valley on April 22

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Baisaran Valley in Kashmir (Photo by SB Stock/Bigstock)

Baisaran Valley, a Kashmiri meadow surrounded by pine trees, was bustling with Hindu tourists on April 22.  

Families were wearing phirans (traditional Kashmiri clothing) for photos, while ponies trotted along the Lidder River. Gunfire shattered this peace when five terrorists opened fire. They targeted Hindu men, checking their religion before shooting them. The terrorists killed 26 people — 25 tourists, including a Navy officer who was on his honeymoon — and Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a pony guide who died protecting others. More than 20 others were wounded.

The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based group tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organization, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but retracted the claim three days later, fearing India’s diplomatic and military response that eventually included the tightening of borders and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.

The attack sparked outrage across India.

Misdirected anger targeted Kashmiri students in Dehradun, Jalandhar, and other cities in which LGBTQ people face heightened vulnerability. They endured harassment, evictions, and threats of violence. The J&K Students Association reported more than 1,000 distress calls, and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah urged states to protect them.

Activists across India have rallied to help LGBTQ Kashmiri students in their cities.

Harish Iyer, a prominent activist, offered shelter and legal assistance to them in Mumbai, the country’s financial hub.

“Religion is a tool used by terrorists worldwide to ensure that their victims divert their energy towards fighting each other while  they continue to focus on our destruction,” said Iyer. “It is a tried and tested formula designed to divide us while we should all be united against them.”

Iyer told the Washington Blade he saw videos of Kashmiri students being targeted.

“Hate gets compounded when you look at it from several intersectional points,” he said. “To belong to identities like queer, Muslim, and Kashmiri makes one vulnerable. In a moment where hate reveals its fang, it is important that love opens its home too.”

Iyer said he received a couple of phone calls from queer people in northern India who had been attacked. He offered to pay for their travel to Mumbai or any other city, but they eventually told him they found a place where they would be safe.

“It just reinstates our collective faith in humanity and asserts that there are kind people everywhere,” said Iyer. “The community stands united with each other against terror.”

He stressed “intersectional realities make us most vulnerable” and “that’s why we need to rise up and be the best of who we are as queer humans.” Iyer told the Blade that other queer activists in India are trying to do just that, albeit silently, by opening their homes to people who have been targeted. 

“Anish Gawande, the queer spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party, has been working hard to restore peace in the valley,” he noted. “He has been doing good work in the Kashmir Valley for several years now. I truly admire his courage and candor. But truly, it’s the everyday queer Indian who advocates for kindness who matter.” 

“They would not be known to all and sundry, may not have a fan following or several followers on social media, but they have it in them to open their homes and their world to those affected,” added Iyer. “Sometimes, love doesn’t cause outpouring visibility, sometimes it silently protects and creates homes with a beating heart.”

Gawande has worked in Kashmir since 2012, running a program for Kashmiri journalism students and an art residency. 

He acknowledged to the Blade the increase in violence against Kashmiri students. Gawande also said LGBTQ Kashmiri students face unique challenges because they are a “minority within a minority.”

“In these difficult times, several activists like Harish Iyer have come forward to offer their support to young Kashmiri LGBTQ students who are afraid for their own safety,” he said. “The intent of the terrorists was to divide us — we cannot let their strategy succeed. I am incredibly grateful to so many members of the queer community and allies who have stepped forward to help all Kashmiris in this difficult time.”

Gawande said he has been supporting the efforts of student leaders, including Nasir Khuehami of the J&K Students Association, who has been leading efforts to ensure Kashmiris across India remain safe and secure. Gawande also said government officials, politicians, and law enforcement are working to protect the students.

“I am grateful to both the central government and state governments across the country for their prompt assistance in this matter,” said Gawande. “In these difficult times, when emotions run high, we remain united against hate.” 

“Today, attempts are being made to create divides between Indians and Kashmiris, between Hindus and muslims,” he added. “We must stand up against such attempts in one voice.” 

Gawande last weekend traveled to Srinagar, the Kashmiri capital, and led multi-faith prayer services in temples, churches, gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship), and dargahs (shrines) “to mourn those who lost their lives in Pahalgam and to send out a message of communal harmony.”

“When attempts are being made to divide us on religious grounds, we must unite through religion,” he said.

Gawande also spoke directly to Kashmiri LGBTQ students, urging them to reach out to the J&K Students Association. He said his New Delhi home and his party’s offices across the country are “also available to those who need a safe space or a place to grieve.”

“In this time of grief, where we are all mourning the dastardly loss of life, it is important to stand up for what is right,” said Gawande. “Queerness has taught me that we have two kinds of families — those of birth and of choice.”

“Kashmir holds a special place in my heart, and when the well being of those who I consider family is under threat, there is no question of even thinking about any potential jeopardizing of my own safety,” he added.

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The Vatican

Potential Pope Francis successor views homosexuality as an ‘abomination’

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu is archbishop of Kinshasa

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Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, Congo. (Screen capture via Vatican News-English/YouTube)

One of the cardinals who is reportedly in the running to succeed Pope Francis has described homosexuality as an “abomination.”

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo, made the comment in a Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar statement in response to Francis’s 2023 decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.

“Within the church family of God in Africa, this declaration has caused a shockwave, it has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful, consecrated persons, and even pastors and has aroused strong reactions,” wrote Ambongo in the Jan. 11, 2024, statement he signed. “The African Bishops’ Conferences emphasize that people with a homosexual tendency must be treated with respect and dignity, while reminding them that unions of persons of the same sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the church.”

The statement notes several Biblical passages that “condemn homosexuality, notably Lv. 18:22-23 where homosexuality is explicitly prohibited and considered an abomination.”

“In addition to these biblical reasons, the cultural context in Africa, deeply rooted in the values of the natural law regarding marriage and family, further complicates the acceptance of unions of persons of the same sex, as they are seen as contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically corrupt,” it reads.

Ambongo, who is president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, in 2024 said homosexuality “does not exist” in Africa outside of “a few isolated cases.” La Croix, a French Catholic newspaper, reported he made the comment during a rally that took place outside of Kinshasa.

Actualité, an online Congolese newspaper, reported Ambongo reiterated his opposition to homosexuality and same-sex unions in his 2023 Christmas message.

“Same-sex unions are not accepted in our church,” he said. “Although homosexuals should be treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity, homosexuality remains a moral disorder contrary to natural law and our African culture.”

Jérémie Safari, executive director of Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko, a Congolese LGBTQ rights group, criticized Ambongo when he spoke with the Washington Blade.

“This cardinal is very homophobic; very, very homophobic,” said Safari.

Francis died on April 21.

The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.

Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians.

Francis last August met with two African activists — Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda and Rightify Ghana Director Ebenezer Peegah — at the Vatican last August. Francis in 2023 visited Congo and South Sudan.

Juan Carlos Cruz, a GLAAD board member who survived clerical sex abuse in Chile, is among the hundreds of thousands of people who attended Francis’s funeral that took place at the Vatican on April 26. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial.

The conclave to select Francis’s successor will begin on May 7.

The Associated Press notes Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the former archbishop of Manila in the Philippines; Archbishop of Bologna (Italy) Cardinal Matteo Zuppi; and Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (Hungary) Cardinal Peter Erdo are among those who are considered potential Francis successors.

“He [Erdo] has been reluctant to take positions on several of the government’s policies that divided society in Hungary, such as public campaigns that villainized migrants and refugees and laws that eroded the rights of LGBTQ+ communities,” said the AP.

New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, in an April 21 statement said it hopes “our loving God, who is a God of justice and equality, will continue to bless us by extending Francis’ welcoming and inclusive message in the next papacy.”

Anti-LGBTQ Catholic figures offered a far different view.

Doug Mainwaring — described as a “marriage, family, and children’s rights activist” — on Monday described Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah as “the only conclave participant to counter LGBT ambiguity and lies of Francis pontificate” in a post that LifeSiteNews, an anti-LGBTQ Canadian Catholic website, published.

“There is just one cardinal about to enter the conclave who is crystal clear, fearless, and uncompromising with the truth when it comes to pastoring those of us who experience same-sex attraction and gender confusion: Cardinal Robert Sarah,” wrote Mainwaring. 

Mainwaring also highlighted anti-LGBTQ comments that Sarah made in his 2019 book.

“I think that the first victims of the LGBT ideology are the persons who experience a homosexual orientation. They are led by its militants to reduce their whole identity to their sexual behavior,” Sarah wrote, according to Mainwaring. “I beg Catholics who are tempted by homosexuality not to let themselves be shut away in this prison of LGBT ideology. You are a child of God by baptism! Your place is in the church, like all Christians. And if sometimes the spiritual combat becomes too hard, fraternal charity will support you.”

Catholic League President Bill Donohue on April 22 urged the cardinals to consider an African counterpart to succeed Francis.

“If the cardinals decide to choose someone who is a traditionalist, they can do no better than to look to Africa. It is home to the most brilliant orthodox clergy in the world,” said Donohue. “If the cardinals want to choose someone more like Francis, they will look to Europe.”

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