Paraguayan gay rights activist pleased with papal message

The Paraguayan gay rights activist who attended a gathering that Pope Francis held with 1,600 members of so-called civil society says some in his own movement thought he should have skipped it.

But Simon Cazal told The Associated Press after Saturday night's event that he accepted the Paraguayan bishops' conference's invitation because he doesn't think the Catholic Church will use his attendance for publicity purposes.

Cazal is executive director of SomosGay. He noted with satisfaction Francis' statement that people's richness is in their diversity and no one should be excluded from anything.

Cazal told AP he hopes Paraguay's government is listening. He said 54 killings of transgender Paraguayans have gone uninvestigated in the past decade.

The church and the pope oppose gay marriage. To them, marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

Cazal is married to an Argentine. Their union is not recognized by Paraguay. In 2010, Argentina became the first Latin American nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

His husband called it a huge gesture of tolerance.

Pope Francis opposes gay marriage in line with church teaching. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he tried unsuccessfully to prevent Argentina from becoming the first country in Latin America to legalize gay marriage.

However, as pope he has also showed great openness to gays, advocating a church that ministers to everyone without judgment.

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The Gayly – July 11, 2015 @ 7:25pm.