Is same-sex supporting Pope the tipping point for the future of the Catholic Church?

He wants to put more women in roles at the Vatican, protect migrants and has compassion for gay marriage. Pope Francis might be seen by many Catholics as the most progressive pontiff yet, writes Catherine Pepinster, but there’s a danger of schism between moderates and modernisers as the biggest Synod for decades starts this week...

In a Church that still insists on a male priesthood, many women feel powerless (Getty)

It is one of the most famous comments ever made by Pope Francis, said soon after he was elected pontiff in response to a reporter’s question about attitudes towards gay people: “Who am I to judge?”

It was one of the first signs that this would be a different pope, one who would try and understand more and condemn a little less. Now, on the eve of the biggest gathering of Roman Catholics in decades, Francis has gone further, telling cardinals who asked him for clarity, that any request for a same-sex blessing should be treated with “pastoral charity”.

“We cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude,” he said.