During a visit to a prison in Naples, Italy, Pope Francis had lunch with 90 prisoners, including a least 10 who are gay, transgender or HIV positive, reports the Daily Mail.

Inmates at the Giuseppe Salvia Detention Centre in Poggioreale prepared the meal. Those who dined with the Pope were chosen by a lottery from about 1,900 people. The head of the prison ministry said the pope wanted a simple meal so he would have time to speak with each prisoner personally.

A bulletin by the Vatican included the pope’s address to the detainees. It’s written in Italian, but Google Translate has the text as this:

I am happy to be among you on the occasion of my visit to Naples. Thank Claudio and Pasquale who spoke on behalf of all. This meeting allows me to express my closeness to you, and I do bring the word and the love of Jesus, who came to Earth to make full our hope and died on the cross to save all of us.
 
Sometimes you feel disappointed, discouraged, abandoned by all, but God does not forget his children, never abandons them! He is always at our side, especially in times of trial; Father is “rich in mercy” (Eph 2,4), always turns on us his serene and benevolent look, always waits for us with open arms. This is a certainty that gives comfort and hope, especially in difficult and sad times. Although we did wrong in life, the Lord never tires of showing us the way back and the encounter with him. Jesus’ love for each of us is a source of consolation and hope. It’s a fundamental certainty for us: Nothing can separate us from the love of God! Not even the bars of a prison. The only thing that can separate us from Him is our sin; but if we acknowledge and confess with sincere repentance, that sin becomes a meeting place [for] Him, because He is mercy.

Dear brothers, I know your painful situations: I receive many letters—some really moving—from prisons around the world. The prisoners are too often kept in conditions unworthy of the human person, and then they fail to reintegrate into society. But thank God there are also leaders, chaplains, educators, pastoral workers who know how to stay close to you in the right way. And there are some good experiences and meaningful input. We have to work on this, to develop these positive experiences, they do grow a different attitude in the civil community and also in the community of the Church. At the basis of this commitment is the conviction that love can always transform the human person. And then a place of marginalization, as may be the prison…can become a place of inclusion and stimulus for the whole society, because it is more just, more attentive to people.
 
I invite you to live every day, every moment in the presence of God…. Here is the Christian hope: the future is in God’s hands! The story makes sense because it is inhabited by the goodness of God. Therefore, even in the midst of so many problems, even serious ones, we do not lose our hope in the infinite mercy of God and his providence. With this sure hope, let’s get ready for the approaching Easter and direct much our lives to the Lord and keep alive in us the flame of his love.
During the Naples trip, the pope also addressed organized crime and related violence. The Huffington Post reports that he was also credited with performing a “half miracle” when part of St. Gennaro’s dried blood, which is kept in a sealed glass ampoule, liquefied in the pope’s presence.

As the Washington Blade reports, although Pope Francis has taken a more moderate tone on LGBT issues in some instances, he has also been criticized for speaking against same-sex marriage equality.