Pope Francis is calling for a change in the Catholic Church’s approach to homosexuality, saying that bishops in particular must be welcoming and show respect.

“We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity,” Francis said during an interview with the Associated Press at the Vatican.

Homosexuality “is not a crime,” the pope said. He then referred to it being a sin, adding “but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime. It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another.”

Pope Francis said the Catholic Church should work to end laws in place some countries that criminalize homosexuality and discriminate against the community. “It must do this. It must do this,” he said.

He added that bishops in particular should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”

Pope Francis was initially heralded as the best hope for liberals, declaring “who am I to judge” in response to a question about a homosexual priest in 2013. But the Vatican has since gone back and forth on LGBTQ matters, with its doctrine office issuing in 2021 a decree that the church cannot bless same-sex unions “because God cannot bless sin.”