VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — On Friday morning in Rome, Pope Leo XIV met with representatives of Courage International, an organization that helps Catholics who struggle with same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria live chaste lives according to the Gospel.
Four members of Courage were present at the audience, including Bridgeport, Connecticut Bishop Frank Caggiano, the chairman of the group’s episcopal board; Fr. Kyle Schnippel, a priest from Cincinnati who chairs Courage’s international executive board; Fr. Brian Gannon, the organization’s executive director, and layman Angelo Sabella, who has been a member of Courage for 31 years
His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, with
Bishop Frank Caggiano, Bishop of Bridgeport; Rev. Kyle Schnippel, priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Rev. Brian Gannon, executive director of Courage International, and Angelo Sabella, staff and Courage member of 31 years.“The Lord has… pic.twitter.com/R0v7F3EH7q
— CourageInternational (@RCCourage) February 6, 2026
In a press release, the group expressed gratitude for being able to tell Leo how they “provide pastoral accompaniment to persons who experience same-sex attraction but who strive to live chaste lives or to accompany family members who have a loved one who identifies as LGBTQ, was a momentous occasion.”
Courage was founded in New York in 1980. It has grown steadily over the past 46 years. It currently operates in over 15 countries and received backing from the Pontifical Council for the Family in 1994 under John Paul II. Pope Francis never met with the organization, opting instead to elevate the public profile of pro-LGBT Jesuit James Martin and other LGBT-affirming clergy.
Unlike Outreach, an organization run by James Martin, Courage does not affirm laity in sexual sin or encourage them to promote gender ideology. Instead, Courage encourages them to live holy lives. It’s five core principles are chastity, prayer and dedication, fellowship, support, and good example
On February 6, 2026, Courage International was blessed with a moment of profound grace: a private audience with our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.
To stand before the Successor of Peter and share the life and mission of this apostolate was deeply moving for all who were present,… pic.twitter.com/i1pLp3tlmK
— CourageInternational (@RCCourage) February 6, 2026
Leo’s meeting with the Courage is significant in that it comes four days after Martin appeared on left-wing TV show host Stephen Colbert’s late night program. After explaining that he had a meeting with Leo last year after the conclave, Martin said that “the message I got from him was that he’s continuing Pope Francis’ mission and message of welcome and inclusion and he wants that to be broadcast.
Martin was controversially granted an audience at the Apostolic Palace with Leo XIV in September. After their conversation, Martin shared on social media that he believes “Pope Leo will be continuing with the same openness that Francis showed to LGBTQ Catholics.”
Other dissident clergy have expressed optimism for Leo as well. “I’d say that I’m faithful: actually, I am full of hope,” Father Andrea Conocchia told the left-wing website National Catholic Reporter (NCR) in October.
Conocchia is a parish priest in Torvaianica, a seaside town southwest of Rome that is infamous for its “sex workers” and drug trade. In 2023, Conocchia and a group of 50 persons, some of whom were men that presented themselves as women, were welcomed to a luncheon at the Vatican. One man who had “transitioned” in order to appear like a prepubescent girl sat opposite of Francis at the table.
On August 28, Leo met with heretical pro-LGBT nun Sister Lucia Caram. The meeting was not publicized on the Vatican’s daily bulletin, and neither Caram nor the Spanish-language news portal Religión Digital, which she is associated with, reported on it. In September 2023, Caram had said that homosexual “couples” should be able to “marry in the Church.
By meeting with Courage, Leo is confirming his desire to meet with a wide array of Catholics. This seems to be in continuity with what he told Crux magazine last year in that he wants to avoid “polarization.” The patron saints of Courage are St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Augustine and St. Monica.