Several passages in the Russian edition of Pope Francis's autobiography "Hope," released in 2026 by Alpina Publisher, turned out to have been censored. The same passages were removed from the electronic version of the book. The Primus Versus bookstore and the "Christians Against War" public group drew attention to this, reports UNN, citing DW.
Details
In the print version, statements by Francis that homosexuality is not a crime and that gay and transgender people are also welcome in the church were found to be concealed by solid black lines.
Transgender people can be baptized and become godparents under the same conditions as other believers — this phrase by the pontiff was also censored. A passage stating that the Vatican allows same-sex unions to be blessed was also concealed.
The publication notes that after Russia adopted a law banning "LGBT propaganda" in 2022, certain publications began to be withdrawn from sale, while entire passages were removed from some books or covered with black lines. Over the past four years, around 600 titles have disappeared from sale, The Insider calculated.