I feel like the media wildly overstates his actual position.
They downright distort what he says to make him seem like a progressive pope. They have been painting him as a "lgbt+ friendly pope" for years while he says shit like this:
“Gender ideology, today, is one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations [...] Today children — children — are taught in school that everyone can choose his or her sex. Why are they teaching this? Because the books are provided by the people and institutions that give you money. These forms of ideological colonization are also supported by influential countries. And this is terrible!”
His most "progressive" stance on the matter is that lgbt people should not be literally kicked out of the church or verbally attacked. That's it. He still thinks it's a sin, it's still forbidden to partake in sacraments and gay marriage is still a big no-no, despite the way they phrased things in the article.
I think what makes them do this is not PR, but clickbait. The idea of a pro-lgbt pope just generates a lot of engagement from people who are bewildered over how such a historically reactionary institution could have a progressive pope (it does not).
They downright distort what he says to make him seem like a progressive pope. They have been painting him as a "lgbt+ friendly pope" for years while he says shit like this:
His most "progressive" stance on the matter is that lgbt people should not be literally kicked out of the church or verbally attacked. That's it. He still thinks it's a sin, it's still forbidden to partake in sacraments and gay marriage is still a big no-no, despite the way they phrased things in the article. I think what makes them do this is not PR, but clickbait. The idea of a pro-lgbt pope just generates a lot of engagement from people who are bewildered over how such a historically reactionary institution could have a progressive pope (it does not).