African LGBTQ activists meet with Pope Francis
Pope Francis on Tuesday met with two LGBTQ activists from Africa at the Vatican. Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda posted to her X account a picture of her sitting next to Francis.
A video that she shared shows Juan Carlos Cruz — a gay Chilean man who is a survivor of clergy sex abuse and a member of a commission that advises Francis on protecting children from pedophile priests — introducing her to the pontiff.
Cruz is also a member of the GLAAD board of directors. Byarugaba, who also founded PFLAG Uganda, said she was “honored to meet” Francis.
She added she briefed him on “the ruinous impact of Uganda’s two in a decade anti-LGBTIQ rights laws,” including the Anti-Homosexuality Act that President Yoweri Museveni signed in 2023, and “the gross human rights violations therein.” “He reiterated discrimination is a sin and violence against LGBTIQ communities is unacceptable,” said Byarugaba.
