Russia censors Pope Francis’ autobiography to remove LGBTQ+ sections
Pope Francis died in April 2025, aged 88. (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
Russia has reportedly censored the late Pope Francis’ book Hope: The Autobiography to remove any mentions about his stance on LGBTQ+ issues.
Pope Francis was responsible for changes in how the Catholic Church sees and accepts LGBTQ+ people. He opened the door for blessings for same-sex couples, called homophobia a sin and condemned criminalising homosexuality. None of this will be read about by people in Russia, however.
The Russian language version of the book has been censored heavily, with LGBTQ+ sections either removed entirely or blacked out. Reports state that both hard and digital versions of the book, which was published in the rest of the world in 2025 but was only published in Russia this year, doesn’t contain any of the late pontiff’s thoughts on transgender rights, homosexuality, and blessing same-sex unions.
One of the most obvious signs of censoring is in the section of the book in which Pope Francis says that gay and trans people are welcomed by the Catholic church. This entire part of the book has been blocked out with black lines.
The Russian edition of the book has been published by Alpina Publishing Group, which has not yet publicly addressed the censoring.
Russia has been cracking down on “LGBT propaganda”, which has seen almost 600 books banned in the country since 2022. The laws around this so-called propaganda affect businesses and individuals, with people being charged for rainbow iconography and for promoting “non-traditional sexual relations or gender transitions”.
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