To be honest, even as an atheist and religion critic (yes, I criticise Islam too, before the idiots inevitably come out of the woodwork), I can't find any reason to not hold respect for Francis. While some Catholics may not agree with the man's policy re: Church dealings and his opinions, he is arguably the most forward-thinking Pope the Catholic Church has had since it became the Catholic Church. He's revolutionising the way the Church operates and changing a lot of its more... ultra-conservative philosophical leanings and opinions.
While I can't find myself agreeing with the way he put this particular decision into words, the core of his message here is great. LGBTQ(A) people are people, and according to the Bible are all not equal under the eyes of God? If so, why were some Christians using antiquated texts (see
Grothnor's post for more on that as I'm not going into detail here) to justify judging others harshly (which is also a sin according to the Bible, last I read;
judge not lest ye be judged or something like that) regarding sexuality. While I don't think
all Christians should be apologising--after all, there are a lot of very progressive Christians out there, and it can be argued that Jesus Christ himself was a liberal and force for social justice even if you don't subscribe to traditional Bible stories--what Francis has said definitely further delegitimises organisations like the Westboro "Baptist Church".
Now, if only the Russian Orthodox Church would move into the 21st century...