With rainbow flags waving, LGBT activists welcome Pope Francis

Flying over the eager Catholic faithful who were waiting outside the SM Mall of Asia for a glimpse of Pope Francis were two large multi-colored flags held aloft by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

 

Pope Francis was at the MOA Arena to meet Filipino families. Meanwhile, out among the crowd outside the mall was rainbow flag bearer Evan Tan, who was explaining that it was important for them to make their presence felt during Pope Francis's Philippine visit, given that their group credited the Pontiff with "opening the discussion of LGBT issues in the Church." 

 

"We want to frontline the message of LGBT rights. The Pope has openly expressed support for our group and he said we should not be judgmental and the Church should be more open to discuss things welcoming the LGBT community," said Tan.

 

Pope Francis had said in 2013 that homosexuals should not be judged or marginalized. Rather, they should be integrated into society. In the same statement, however, the Pope reaffirmed the Church teaching that homosexual acts were a sin.

 

Tan's friend, Niccolo Cosme, who was holding up the other LGBT flag, hoped that the local church in the Philippines would "adopt" Pope Francis' openness toward the LGBT community.

 

"We really have an impression that our local church thinks differently [from the Pope]," said Cosme.

 

Members of LGBT community show their love for #PopeFrancis,thanking him for 'opening the discussion' on LGBT @gmanews pic.twitter.com/G1HdD4tL3A

— Marc Meru (@marcmeru) January 16, 2015
 
 

Another companion, California-based Christopher Villanueva, who was visiting the Philippines, said he appreciated the Pope's openness to something long held taboo in Roman Catholicism.

 

"We would like him to know that the LGBT is open for conversation as well with the Catholic Church... We support the direction that conversation is going," Villanueva added.

 

"He's actually being a leader. And for me just to be recognized and be part of the conversation... and he's doing that."

 

Tan said he and his friends had been waving their flags, walking back and forth from the EDSA Extension to the MOA, to get more people to see the rainbow flag. Seeing the flag, they hoped, would fuel continued interest in discussing LGBT issues.

 

"Just a while ago, a girl approached me, shook my hands and proudly said she was a lesbian," he said. And the group really seemed to be a crowd-favorite, as people came up to them to have their photo taken.

 

He said they plan to organize a bigger contingent of LGBTs in the remaining days of the five-day papal visit.

 

The Pontiff is set to visit Leyte on Saturday, return to Manila on Sunday, and leave by Monday.

 

HIV awareness

 

Tan, Cosme, and Villanueva said the papal event also gave them the opportunity to speak out on another topic closely associated with the gay community, AIDS awareness.

 

Tan is adminsitrative head for "The Red Whistle" (theredwhistle.com), a group of advocates raising awareness on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

 

"Not only do we spread HIV awareness, but we also raise funds to assist our HIV organizations so they can provide free testing, counseling, and financial support to People Living with HIV (PLHIV) who need it," said the group in its website.

 

A recent Department of Health report said that of the 492 new HIV cases last November, 250 cases were transmitted through males having sex with other males, bisexuals 146 cases, and heterosexuals 68 cases. The registry did not elaborated on the mode of transmission for 28 cases.

 

But then, Pope Francis' motorcade began to pass by Tan's group. All discussions on gay rights and HIV awarness came to a sudden stop. The group of friends waved their rainbow flags and started cheering, and yelling happily, just like everybody else. — DVM/ELR, GMA News