‘The View’ Hosts Are Anxious Over New Pope’s Past Views on LGBTQ Community, Allegations of Mishandling Abuse | Video

Robert Prevost was selected as the first American pope on Thursday, and on Friday morning, some of the hosts on “The View” had concerns about the choice.

To kick off the day’s Hot Topics, host Joy Behar jokingly asked “What do you want to bet Trump says the election was stolen” before asking for her coworkers’ real thoughts on the matter. She opted to talk to the actual Catholics first, which meant Sunny Hostin kicked things off. And she was pretty hesitant.

“I’m a little concerned about this choice for the LGBTQ+ community,” she admitted. “In 2012 he gave an address to bishops, and he lamented the popular culture fostered and sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel, and that’s a quote.”

“And then he cited the ‘homosexual lifestyle’ and ‘alternative families comprised of same sex partners and their adopted children,'” she continued. “I think that Pope Francis certainly made great changes in terms of embracing the LGBTQ+ community and extending blessings to the community, and I hope that this Pope doesn’t roll back the –“

At that, both Behar and Ana Navarro cut in to defend Pope Leo, which is the title Prevost has opted to take in his new role. Navarro was quick to point out again that the quotes Hostin was referring to are more than a decade old at this point.

“In 2012, there were even a lot of American politicians who today are pro-gay marriage and pro-equal rights who were not,” Navarro said. “So maybe, you know, with the weight of the papacy, and the idea that — he just said when he went out on the balcony that you know, the church loves everyone and was inclusive in his first message.”

“So until we see otherwise, I think we need to pray and hope that he follows in Francis’s footsteps in being inclusive, forgiving, compassionate, welcoming, and speaking up for the marginalized, speaking up for the poor, speaking up for the migrants, speaking up for the targeted, speaking up for all those people that today feel alone,” she continued.

Host Sara Haines jumped in at that point, echoing Hostin’s concerns, and adding that she had a few others stemming from reports that the Conclave looked past allegations that Prevost had previously mishandled or failed to act on sexual abuse cases involving priests.

“The probably dirtiest stain on the Catholic Church would be the abuse of young children,” Haines said. “So to know that that could have been looked past is difficult to reconcile, for me.”

You can watch the full discussion from “The View” in the video above.

The post ‘The View’ Hosts Are Anxious Over New Pope’s Past Views on LGBTQ Community, Allegations of Mishandling Abuse | Video appeared first on TheWrap.