Concerning the dangers of indoctrination by gender theory, the Pope spoke about a conversation in a French family: while at table, the father, talking with the children, asked his 10-year-old son what he wanted to be when he grew up. The boy replied, "a girl.” The parents thus discovered that, even in their child's school, the gender theory was being taught. "This is contrary to nature," said Francis, " a person with this tendency or who has a sex change is one thing, teaching this line of thought in schools in order to change the mentality is quite another. I call this 'ideological colonization'."

Then, Francis spoke about how he received, at the Vatican, a person who changed his sex: "He told me that in the neighborhood where he lived there was an elderly priest, his old parish priest, and a new one, who when seeing him would shout at him from the sidewalk, ‘You will go to hell!’ But when meeting his old priest, the latter would say to him, ‘How long has it been since you’ve confessed? Come on, come!'. Life is life, and you have to accept things the way they come. Sin is sin. Trends or hormonal imbalances give many problems, and we have to be careful in saying that everything is the same: in any case, we have to welcome him, accompany him, study him, discern and integrate him. This is what Jesus would do today. Now please do not say that the Pope will sanctify transsexuals! I already see the headlines... This is a human, moral problem. And it should be resolved as one can, always with God's mercy, with the truth, but always—said Francis—with an open heart."