Pope Leo XIV has drawn a clear line. A line that, for some, protects the natural order willed by God; for others, it excludes love. He declared that the family is and must remain the union between a man and a woman, calling it “a small but true society, prior to every civil society.” A statement that stirs hearts… and memories. Because it echoes an ancient voice that seemed to have softened under more inclusive pontificates.
But let’s take a step back.
In 2020, Pope Francis spoke in favor of civil rights for homosexual couples. “They are children of God,” he said. Words that felt like an embrace. Words that, for once, made those on the margins feel at home. And yet today, with Leo XIV, the Church seems to want to reestablish stricter hierarchies, sharper distinctions. And that return to pure doctrine reverberates, separating the “natural” family from the “affective” one — as if love needed a sexual label to be legitimate.
The real question is this: is there truly only one way to “create”? Biologically, yes. But spiritually?
A heterosexual couple can procreate, but doesn’t always generate love. A homosexual couple may not procreate, but often nurtures, educates, supports. In a society that no longer defines itself solely by blood, family has become a symbolic space — of belonging, of mutual aid. Where love exists, growth follows. And growth isn’t only a matter of DNA.
The Pope’s position, though rooted in Tradition, opens a crack: the one between biological identity and relational dignity. It’s true that the family, as a natural institution, needs a physical foundation to ensure the continuation of the species. But reducing it to that, without acknowledging the richness of human experience in all its forms, risks emptying the word “love” of its meaning.
The issue is not to deny the man-woman family model. Quite the opposite — it’s to uphold its value without diminishing what lies outside the millennia-old mold. It’s to admit that in the diversity of human bonds, there is something divine, even if it’s not canonized. A gay couple may not be “creative” in the physical sense, but they can be spiritually, educationally, and communally. They can generate meaning, cohesion, future.
And ultimately, what does it mean to be “children of God” if not to be part of a greater design, where no one is excluded?
Pope Leo XIV is fully entitled to speak from the heart of doctrine, but the hearts of the faithful — now more than ever — need words that also consider the flesh and blood of lived lives. Because families that are not born from biology are often born from pain, choice, and resilience. And if that’s not sacred, then what is?
In conclusion, perhaps the true provocation today is rediscovering that the family is, yes, a place of physical creation, but also — and most importantly — of spiritual generation. A mother and a father are noble figures. But two souls who choose and care for each other every day, defying the world’s judgment — are they any less sacred?
If God is love, then those who love are family.
The rest... is hierarchy.
