Pope Francis would baptise aliens, but won’t marry gay couples

Pope Francis has indicated he would be happy to baptise aliens and allow them into the church, despite his opposition to same-sex marriage.

He made the comments while appearing on Vatican Radio this week.

He said: “If, for example, tomorrow an expedition of Martians came to us here and one said ‘I want to be baptised!’, what would happen?

“Martians, right? Green, with long noses and big ears, like in children’s drawings.

“When the Lord shows us the way, who are we to say, ‘No, Lord, it is not prudent! No, let’s do it this way’?

“[Saint Peter] makes this decision: ‘Who am I to admit impediments?’

“Who are we to close doors? In the early Church, even today, there is the ministry of the ostiary [usher].

“And what did the ostiary do? He opened the door, received the people, allowed them to pass. But it was never the ministry of the closed door, never.”

In March, the Pope asserted that “Matrimony is between a man and a woman”. He has also urged for ‘sexual chastity’ to fight HIV, and has condemned same-sex adoption.

The Pope has been criticised for doing very little to reform the church’s approach to gay rights, despite making seemingly pro-gay statements.

Last July the Pope famously asked “Who am I to judge gay people?”,and in August said the church was “obsessed” with same-sex marriage.

Last month a New York LGBT homeless shelter invited him to come and see for himself the damage of church policy on gay youth, but he is yet to reply.

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