Francis said Sunday that Christians are obliged to apologize to gays and those who were offended by the Church. Some Catholics took this as a breakthrough in the tone of the Church toward homosexuality.

"I repeat what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: We should not be discriminated against," Francis said at a press conference aboard the papal plane returning from Armenia. "The Church needs to apologize for itself many times over - when I say Church, I mean the Christian Church is Holy, we are sinners!"

"I believe that the Church should not only apologize to the person who is gay, whom she insulted," he added, "the Church needs to apologize to the poor, exploited women, children exploited for labor, she needs to ask forgiveness for the blessing of weapons."

Reverend James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at large of America magazine, called the Pope apologize to gay men and lesbians "innovative."

At the time, John Paul II apologized to several groups in 2000. It was the Jewish people, indigenous peoples, immigrants and women. Forgiveness is an essential part of the Christian life. No group feels more marginalized in the Church today than the LGBT community. "Dad said that Christians bear some blame for the hatred of the LGBT community. And slaughter in the night gay club in Orlando , where it was killed 49 people, living proof.

Francis was the first to utter the rhetorical question - Who am I to judge gays? His comments were hailed as a breakthrough for a Church that for centuries condemned homosexuality, often in harsh statements.
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