How could the next Pope influence global LGBTQ+ rights?

LONDON - As cardinals prepare to choose a new leader for the Catholic Church after the death of Pope Francis, LGBTQ+ faithful have praised the legacy left by a progressive pontiff who redefined relations with the community.

Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday aged 88, met with trans women, urged the church to seek forgiveness from gay people, and allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, although he did not approve of same-sex relations or marriage equality.

A new pope will be chosen by cardinals during a secret meeting or conclave expected to start between May 6 and May 11.

Here's how the decision could impact global LGBTQ+ rights.

Where did Pope Francis stand on LGBTQ+ rights?

Pope Francis was seen as more accepting of LGBTQ+ rights than previous popes, including his predecessor Benedict XVI, who viewed gay marriage as a threat to the "future of humanity".

However, some LGBTQ+ faithful would have liked him to go further in his actions and statements.

Within months of his election in 2013, Francis said gay people should not be discriminated against and that being gay itself was not a sin, but reaffirmed Catholic teaching that says same-sex acts are sinful.

"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?" Francis told reporters.

In 2016, Francis said the Church should seek forgiveness from gay people, but later that year he said "gender theory" was part of a "global war" on marriage.

In 2020 he said homosexual couples should be protected by civil union laws.

In 2022, Francis advised the parents of gay children to support them and the following year, on a flight back from an African trip, he said laws criminalising LGBTQ+ people were a sin and an injustice.

That same year, he met trans women, said trans people could be godparents at Catholic baptisms and approved blessings for same-sex couples.

In talks in October last year, LGBTQ+ activists urged the pope to overturn the church's ban on gender-affirming care.

Are any papal candidates in favour of LGBTQ+ inclusion?

Although experts caution that predicting the next pope is almost impossible, some names are being talked about.

Among them, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, has previously called for the church to be more accepting of LGBTQ+ members and find new ways to address contemporary family situations.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey and seen as an outside chance, has been recognised for his openness toward LGBTQ+ people.

In 2017, he wrote that "in too many parts of our church LGBT people have been made to feel unwelcome, excluded, and even shamed".

The decision on the next pope will be made by cardinals under the age of 80, or about 135 prelates. Observers have pointed out that almost 80% of them were chosen by Francis, increasing the possibility that the next pope will share his vision of a more progressive, inclusive Church.

What have LGBTQ+ Catholic groups said?

The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics said Francis' papacy had been an "often imperfect" turning point for the community.

"It marked the beginning of a relationship between the church and the LGBTIQ+ faithful that no longer denied, dismissed, or feared our presence," it said in a statement.

New Ways Ministry, a U.S. group advocating for LGBTQ+ people, said Francis opened a dialogue that had been "sealed shut" previously.

"Francis was not only the first pope to use the word 'gay' when speaking about LGBTQ+ people, he was the first pope to speak lovingly and tenderly to them," director Francis DeBernardo said.

London group LGBT+ Catholics Westminster said Francis had a profound impact on the Church.

"[His LGBTQ+ inclusion] did not, of course, change Catholic teaching on the subject, but marked an important change in tone from that of his predecessors," chair Joe Stanley said in a statement.

(Reporting by Lucy Middleton; Editing by Jonathan Hemming)