Pope Francis championed inclusion. LGBTQ Catholics hope a new pope will finish what he started.
CBSN
As the conclave to select a new pope begins this week, LGBTQ Catholics hope that whoever is picked will finish the inclusion work Pope Francis started more than 20 years ago.
Pope Francis, who died at 88 last month, was the first pontiff to be publicly inclusive of the LGBTQ Catholic community. He didn't change doctrine, but he changed the conversation by voicing support for legal civil unions, personally meeting with LGBTQ groups and extending blessings to individuals in same-sex unions.
"Francis was really a breath of fresh air, and a revolutionary in the way he was telling Church leaders to approach and relate to LGBTQ people," said Francis DeBardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Catholic outreach that educates about and advocates for LGBTQ persons.
