He praised Pope Benedict (89) for “protecting me, having my back, with his prayers.”Pope Francis said he had heard that when some Church officials had gone to Pope Benedict to complain that Francis was too liberal, but Pope Benedict “sent them packing.”Keywords: Pope Francis, gays, Church ‘No Benedict influence, only one Pope’The Pope also denied reports that former Pope Benedict, who resigned in 2013, was still exercising influence inside the Vatican. Pope Francis said on Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they had treated them. “Church says don’t discriminate against gays”Pope Francis recalled Church teachings that homosexuals “should not be discriminated against. Pope Francis repeated a slightly modified version of the now-famous “Who am I to judge?” comment he made about gays on the first foreign trip after his election in 2013.

Source: The Hindu June 27, 2016 04:18 UTC