Sir, – Declan Kelly (July 31st) misses the point of Pope Francis's statement. The Pope was not implicitly comparing homosexual people with heterosexual people; rather, he was responding to a question about homosexual priests living in celibacy. The Catholic Church holds that sexual relations are for the procreation of children and the full unity of the couple; thus, any sex (heterosexual or homosexual) outside of marriage cannot be condoned. At the same time, the Pope and the church teach (and have always taught) that all people, no matter what we do or have done, should be treated with dignity and respect, and not judged. – Yours, etc,
KATE CUSACK,
Lombard Street,
Newton,
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Massachusetts, US.