Pope Leo signals shift away from Catholic Church's focus on sex

Pope Leo's four-nation Africa tour featured firm denunciations by the pontiff of despotism and war and also unprecedented attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump that grabbed headlines.



But a smaller moment, in which the pope said the Catholic Church should prioritise questions of inequality and justice over those of sexual ethics, may prove to be of longer-lasting importance for the Church's 1.4 billion members, said experts.



"The unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters," Leo, the first U.S. pope, said in a press conference on his flight home on Thursday.



"I believe there are much greater and more important issues such as justice, equality... that would all take priority before that particular issue," he said.



Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of Dignity USA, a group that supports LGBTQ Catholics, called the pope's remarks "a very significant and overdue reorientation of priorities".



Priests and bishops in the global Church have long emphasised as high priorities its teachings on sexual issues, including its bans on abortion, birth control and same-sex marriage.