{"id":5180,"date":"2025-09-18T11:20:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T15:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/?p=5180"},"modified":"2025-09-18T14:35:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T18:35:50","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV on Sexuality – Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\n

Recently a clip of an interview between Pope Leo XIV and Elise Ann Allen was been making the rounds. It took place as part of a wide-ranging and deeply personal biography titled <\/span>Le\u00f3n XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century<\/span><\/i>), published in Spanish by Penguin Peru on today (September 18, 2025).<\/span><\/p>\n

One segment of the interview in particular is getting attention. Here Pope Leo Responds to Elise Ann Allen\u2019s question about how his tone will be different than Francis on issues related to LGBTQ+ issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the quote:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What I\u2019m trying to say is what Francis said very clearly when he would say, \u201ctodos, todos, todos.\u201d Everyone\u2019s invited in, but I don\u2019t invite a person in because they are or are not of any specific identity. I invite a person in because they are a son or daughter of God. You\u2019re all welcome, and let\u2019s get to know one another and respect one another. At some point, when specific questions will come up\u2026 People want the church doctrine to change, want attitudes to change. I think we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question. I find it highly unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the church\u2019s doctrine in terms of what the church teaches about sexuality, what the Church teaches about marriage, [will change].<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Pope Leo XIV to Elise Allen<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I find the phrase \u201cin the near future,\u201d to be perhaps the most significant statement in the entire exchange.<\/span><\/p>\n

This phrase could be interpreted in several ways, each carrying weighty implications. On one hand, it may function as a delay tactic, offering a kind of false hope to groups seeking reform of the Church\u2019s moral teachings.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other, it might signal an openness to doctrinal development that stretches beyond what John Henry Newman envisioned (a development not as a rupture, but as a preservation of truth through adaptation, remaining faithful amid a rapidly shifting cultural zeitgeist) instead suggesting the introduction of a discontinuity or reversal of long-held moral teachings \u2013 a new <\/span>Praevalet cura pastoralis <\/span><\/i>hermetic in the execution of the role of the Magisterium.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Hieronymus Bosch \u2013 The Garden of Earthly Delights (1500)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both possibilities are troubling if true.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is, however, a third and more charitable interpretation: that Pope Leo is expressing a form of epistemic humility. That is, while he cannot currently envision a path by which the Church\u2019s teaching on this topic might change, he nonetheless leaves room for the movement of the Holy Spirit\u2014acknowledging that divine wisdom may unfold in ways beyond his own understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet Pope Leo XIV, both in this quote and elsewhere in his interview, rightly reminds us that our focus on sin must never be divorced from the identity of the person: beloved by God, created with innate dignity, and destined for communion with Him. This is not sentimentality\u2014it is theological realism. Every person is more than their choices, and every soul is called to transformation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given that the Church\u2019s stance is that moral truths are meant to guide souls toward holiness and eternal life, the tension we face today must be taken seriously. Sin wounds us\u2014deeply. To ignore it, minimize it, or smooth it over is to risk an enormous spiritual cost, both personally and communally.<\/span><\/p>\n

We should indeed cry out <\/span>\u201ctodos, todos, todos\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u2014but we must also be clear that the invitation is to a new identity. One in which God\u2019s love is not merely comforting, but consuming. Mercy is not cheap grace. It is a righteousness that gives no quarter to any area of our lives where we choose a path other than that of being transformed in mind and heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

The obsession of our age with sex\u2014and it is an obsession\u2014is not the Church\u2019s doing. The Church has not elevated sexuality as the supreme moral concern; rather, it has responded to a culture that has enthroned pleasure-centered utilitarianism. This cultural fixation owes more to Jeremy Bentham than to <\/span>Casti Connubii<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Humanae Vitae<\/span><\/i>, or <\/span>Persona Humana<\/span><\/i>. Bentham\u2019s principle of utility, which elevates the maximization of pleasure and minimization of pain as the highest good, has shaped a worldview where sexual satisfaction is seen as the pinnacle of human fulfillment.<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, the Church\u2019s teachings are not repressive\u2014they are redemptive. They are a response to a culture that has placed individual autonomy above all else, even above truth, goodness, and communion. This is fundamentally antithetical to the Gospel, which calls us not to self-sovereignty, but to self-gift.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently a clip of an interview between Pope Leo XIV and Elise Ann Allen was been making the rounds. It took place as part of a wide-ranging and deeply personal biography titled Le\u00f3n XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI (Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century), published in Spanish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1678,"featured_media":5183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-5180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-pope-leo-xiv"],"yoast_head":"\nPope Leo XIV on Sexuality - Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recently a clip of an interview between Pope Leo XIV and Elise Ann Allen was been making the rounds. It took place as part of a wide-ranging and deeply\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope Leo XIV on Sexuality - Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently a clip of an interview between Pope Leo XIV and Elise Ann Allen was been making the rounds. It took place as part of a wide-ranging and deeply\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Orant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T15:20:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T18:35:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/394\/2025\/09\/Bosch.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Billy Kangas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Billy Kangas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html\",\"name\":\"Pope Leo XIV on Sexuality - Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-18T15:20:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-18T18:35:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/2c17428b1556df23f5982263d9dbd58d\"},\"description\":\"Recently a clip of an interview between Pope Leo XIV and Elise Ann Allen was been making the rounds. It took place as part of a wide-ranging and deeply\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pope Leo XIV on Sexuality – Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/\",\"name\":\"The Orant\",\"description\":\"Conversations About Following Jesus\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/2c17428b1556df23f5982263d9dbd58d\",\"name\":\"Billy Kangas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62caf5013b1314de00735bfe5204a74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62caf5013b1314de00735bfe5204a74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Billy Kangas\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/author\/bkanga\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pope Leo XIV on Sexuality - Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy","description":"Recently a clip of an interview between Pope Leo XIV and Elise Ann Allen was been making the rounds. It took place as part of a wide-ranging and deeply","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope Leo XIV on Sexuality - Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy","og_description":"Recently a clip of an interview between Pope Leo XIV and Elise Ann Allen was been making the rounds. It took place as part of a wide-ranging and deeply","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html","og_site_name":"The Orant","article_published_time":"2025-09-18T15:20:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-18T18:35:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/394\/2025\/09\/Bosch.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Billy Kangas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Billy Kangas","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html","name":"Pope Leo XIV on Sexuality - Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-18T15:20:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-18T18:35:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/2c17428b1556df23f5982263d9dbd58d"},"description":"Recently a clip of an interview between Pope Leo XIV and Elise Ann Allen was been making the rounds. It took place as part of a wide-ranging and deeply","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2025\/09\/pope-leo-xiv-on-sexuality-cheap-grace-radical-autonomy.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope Leo XIV on Sexuality – Cheap Grace & Radical Autonomy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/","name":"The Orant","description":"Conversations About Following Jesus","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/2c17428b1556df23f5982263d9dbd58d","name":"Billy Kangas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62caf5013b1314de00735bfe5204a74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62caf5013b1314de00735bfe5204a74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Billy Kangas"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/author\/bkanga"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}