"The View" co-host Sunny Hostin said she felt "focused" about the LGBTQ+ community after seeing the new pope's re-laying statement.
Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the first American pope on Thursday, named after Pope Leo Xiv. He was described as a compromise candidate between more traditional and progressive factions of the Roman Catholic Church, because he had said that he favored doctrinal traditions and support for the workers and the poor. Although some liberal commentators praised him, others doubted that their beliefs might actually be consistent.
“I’m a devout Catholic,” said Hosting. “Look, I always thought it was exciting to watch conference games, look for white smoke and black smoke, just rituals, and, you know, we certainly need spiritual leadership in these tough times in our country because of certain things we’re going through. I’m a little worried about the choice of the LGBTQ+ community.”
The “The View” co-host expressed her concerns about Pope Leo XIV and cited his statement about the LGBTQ+ community.
President Trump calls first Pope Leo XIV "honor" and "very happy"
She went on to quote the Pope's statement in 2012.
“In 2012, he spoke to the bishop, and he lamented the popular culture of raising and the beliefs and customs that sympathize with the gospel, that’s a sentence, and then he quoted “the gay lifestyle” and ‘alternative families of alternative families, made up of same-sex couples and their adopters and their adopted children.”
The co-host then recalled the late Pope Francis and said: "I think Pope Francis has made a significant change in embracing the LGBTQ+ community and expanding blessings to the community, and I hope this Pope will not back down-"
Several co-hosts, including Ana Navarro, were interjected, who was identified as Catholic and highlighted the date he made the statement.
“In 2012, there were even a lot of American politicians today who are pro-gay marriage and pro-equal rights, maybe, you know, you know, you know, the weight of the pope and what he just said when he was out on the balcony was that the church loved everyone and contained his first message, so we thought we needed to pray and hope in Frances’ footsteps and hope at Frances’ feet, as we all know, Francis' footsteps are well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, well known, and hoped that he could be at the feet of Francis, and hoped that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of Francis, and hope that he would be at the feet of F
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Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, American Cardinal Robert Prevost appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on May 8, 2025 (Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiaipane)
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Pope Leo also reportedly warned of gender ideology, reporting to local news outlets: “Promoting gender ideology is confusing because it tries to create a gender that does not exist.”
While the late Pope Francis was sentenced to honor for expanding the olive branch to the LGBTQ+ community, he also warned that gender ideology is the “ugliest danger” of our time.