In May 2025, reports spread on social networks that at one of the events the new pontiff, having seen the LGBT flag, allegedly defiantly turned away and walked around it. We have verified the veracity of such statements.
On May 13, Telegram channels began to actively discuss a video featuring Pope Leo XIV: walking past a crowd of people who had gathered to greet him, the Primate of the Catholic Church allegedly pointedly turned away from the LGBT rainbow flag. Many commentators regarded this act is a sign of the Vatican’s return to conservative values and rejection of the progressive reforms of the past pope. “This gives some hope that Robert Prevost (the pope’s secular name - Ed.) is a greater traditionalist than his predecessor Francis. And that there will be no further movement of the Catholic world towards a queer clergy and the blessing of multi-gender polygonal unions. However, there is no guarantee,” commented the video on the channel “Redacted P6 (Boiler #6)"(442,000 views at the time of publication). A video with similar captions was also shared “Solovyov"(240,000 views), "Uncle Slava"(194,000), Voblya (120,000), "Ostashko! Important"(96,000), etc.
Pope Francis, who died in April 2025, was considered defender rights of the LGBT community: he allowed (with reservations) for priests to bless same-sex couples for marriage, approved participation of LGBT representatives in church ceremonies, and at the beginning of 2025 officially allowed openly gays to be ordained. For his liberal views, the pontiff was constantly subjected to criticism, including from the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian conservative Media.
When the conclave elected Robert Prevost pope, the press began to speculatewhether he will continue the liberal reforms started by his predecessor or take a course towards adjusting them. Even before his election, the Prevost made several statements in which condemned "homosexual lifestyle" and same-sex marriage, calling them contrary to the Gospel. And after the beginning of his pontificate, at his first meeting with the diplomatic corps of the Vatican, Leo XIV once again statedthat the family is based on the union between a man and a woman.
Viral video is a fragment of a video published on May 12 on YouTube channel Vatican News, the official media of the Holy See. That day, Leo XIV had an audience with media representatives from all over the world: he addressed them with a speech and read a prayer, and then came up to greet the journalists and the believers who were waiting for him.
It is noticeable in the video that the flag held by one of the meeting participants differs from the symbol of the LGBT movement. Firstly, on classic The LGBT flag has six stripes (red on top, then orange, yellow, green, blue and purple), and the flag from the viral video has seven stripes (purple on top, then blue, light blue, green, yellow, orange and red). Secondly, it has a large white inscription “Pace”, which means “peace” in Italian. For the first time such a flag used in 1961 at a peace march in the Italian province of Perugia, and its colors were inspired by a similar rainbow symbol from an anti-nuclear weapons demonstration three years earlier in Britain. Since then, the Pace flag has become an emblem of pacifist movements and is widely used in Italy and several other countries. Although it is similar to the LGBT flag, the two symbols are not related in any way.
In addition, from the full video it is difficult to draw a clear conclusion that Leo XIV specifically turned away from the flag. The Pontiff walked down the aisle and greeted people on both sides, turning first to one and then to the other. Some believers tried to attract his attention with different flags (for example, the flags of Peru, Bolivia and Poland were also included in the frame), but not everyone succeeded. So it’s unlikely that the pope deliberately ignored the believer with the Pace flag.
Thus, the news that Leo XIV deliberately turned his back on the LGBT flag and thereby “announced” the Vatican’s policy in this area is untrue. The video shows a peace flag common in Italy, not an LGBT symbol. In addition, there was most likely no malicious intent in this action of the pontiff - at that moment the Pope was greeting the believers on the other side of him.
Cover photo: Vatican News
- Forbes. Against the death penalty and for supporting women: what will Pope Francis be remembered for?
- BBC. Robert Prevost, aka Pope Leo XIV. Why and on what basis do pontiffs choose new names for themselves?
- Deutsche Welle. Who is Robert Prevost and what kind of Leo XIV will he be?
- Is it true that Pope Leo XIV is a registered supporter of the Republican Party?
- Is it true that after death the Pope is hit on the forehead with a silver hammer to make sure he is dead?
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