Pope Francis waves from the pope-mobile during his inauguration Mass at St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday (March 19) at the Vatican. RNS photo by Andrea Sabbadini

Update: my reflections on the interview here.

America is part of a collaboration of Jesuit journals that landed an exclusive interview with Pope Francis, published today on the Jesuit magazine’s website.

Pope Francis rejects the notion that God condemns gays:

‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being.

He has words for critics, including high-ranking archbishops, who have chastised him for not talking about abortion and same-sex marriage:

“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.

On women in the Catholic Church:

Women are asking deep questions that must be addressed. The church cannot be herself without the woman and her role. The woman is essential for the church. Mary, a woman, is more important than the bishops. I say this because we must not confuse the function with the dignity. We must therefore investigate further the role of women in the church. We have to work harder to develop a profound theology of the woman.

The Jesuit writer James Martin has a breakdown of the interview on America’s website. More to come, surely.