"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge them?" Pope Francis said on Monday.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church said gay people should not be marginalised but integrated into society.

He reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's position that homosexual acts are sinful, but homosexual orientation is not.

The Pope's comments are in sharp contrast to his predecessor Benedict who condemned homosexuality as "evil".

Too often we condemn homosexuality as "un-African" or against religion. In some countries like Uganda, legislators have gone to the extremes of proposing the death penalty for gays.

Yet, if we are honest, we all personally know gay people who we respect and admire.

We also all know people who have robbed and cheated their way to the top of society yet we do not condemn in the same way that we condemn gays.

And finally, how good are we? What sins have we ourselves committed that we hide in darkness?

The Pope has done a fine thing by refusing to cast the first stone at gay people. He has said that he is no better than them, so we should ask, are we ourselves any better?

Quote of the day: "If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - British novelist JK Rowling was born on July 31, 1965.