British singer says the pontiff’s attempt to change Catholic church is ‘formidable’ as he hosts annual Aids benefit concert

Sir Elton John has called Pope Francis his “hero” for his compassionate drive to accept gay people in the Catholic church.
At John’s annual Aids benefit concert in New York City, the singer said Francis was pushing boundaries in the church and told the crowd: “Make this man a saint now, OK?”

“Ten years ago one of the biggest obstacles in the fight against Aids was the Catholic church. Today we have a pope that speaks out about it,” said John, earning cheers from the attendees at Cipriani’s on Wall Street.

Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays earlier this month, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families.   The UK Guardian