DoomsdaysCW<p>NOT THE WORST POPE! Seriously!!!</p><p>From 2023: For this group of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TransWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TransWomen</span></a>, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pope" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Pope</span></a> and his message of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/inclusivity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>inclusivity</span></a> are a welcome change </p><p>By Nicole Winfield</p><p>TORVAIANICA, Italy (AP) — " <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PopeFrancis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PopeFrancis</span></a>’ recent gesture of welcome for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Transgender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Transgender</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Catholics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Catholics</span></a> has resonated strongly in this working class, seaside town south of Rome, where a community of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TransWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TransWomen</span></a> has found help and hope through a remarkable relationship with the pontiff forged during the darkest times of the pandemic.</p><p>"Thanks to the local parish priest, these women now make monthly visits to Francis’ Wednesday general audiences, where they are given VIP seats. On any given day, they receive handouts of medicine, cash and shampoo. When COVID-19 struck, the Vatican bussed them into its health facility so they could be vaccinated ahead of most Italians.</p><p>"On Sunday, the women — many of whom are <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LatinAmerican" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LatinAmerican</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/migrants" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>migrants</span></a> and work as <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/prostitutes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>prostitutes</span></a> — joined over 1,000 other poor and homeless people in the Vatican auditorium as Francis’ guests for lunch to mark the Catholic Church’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WorldDayOfThePoor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WorldDayOfThePoor</span></a>.</p><p>"The menu was evidence of Francis’ belief that those most on the margins must be treated with utmost dignity: cannelloni pasta filled with spinach and ricotta to start; meatballs in a tomato-basil sauce and cauliflower puree, and tiramisu with petit fours for dessert."</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-transgender-lgbtq-b3d67868504ba701cce09da9ecc94de0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">apnews.com/article/vatican-tra</span><span class="invisible">nsgender-lgbtq-b3d67868504ba701cce09da9ecc94de0</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TransgenderRightsAreHumanRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TransgenderRightsAreHumanRights</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RIPPopeFrancis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RIPPopeFrancis</span></a></p>