Pope Francis told a young transgender person this week that God loves all of us as we are and finds none of us “disgusting.”
Speaking with a young person named Jonah, identified as disabled, homosexual, and transgender, the pontiff said that the Lord “walks with us always.”
“The Lord doesn’t find any of us disgusting. Even if we are sinners, he comes to help us,” he said. “The Lord is not disgusted by our realities; He loves us as we are.”
“And this is God’s crazy love,” he continued. “God loves us as we are, God always caresses us. God is father, mother, brother, everything to us.”
“And understanding this is difficult, but He loves us as we are,” he concluded. “Don’t give up. Go forward…”
The conversation took place in the context of a “Popecast” (papal podcast) produced by Vatican Radio between Francis and a group of boys and girls in preparation for the upcoming World Youth Day, which will take place in Lisbon from August 1 to 6.
Along with the transgender person, the pope also spoke with inmates at a juvenile correctional facility, a girl suffering from bipolar disorder, a young person addicted to video games, and a South American gang member, Vatican News reported.