Three top religious leaders — the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland — joined in a news conference denouncing anti-LGBTQ laws.

The leaders of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Presbyterian Christian denominations met with reporters aboard the Pope's plane on the flight back to Rome from South Sudan. They were in the civil war—ravaged country on what was billed as an "ecumenical pilgrimage" to support a peace process.

Pope Francis, the head of the Anglican Communion, and top Presbyterian minister together denounced the criminalization of homosexuality on Sunday and said Gay people should be welcomed by their churches.

Reporters asked them about Pope Francis's recent remark that "being homosexual is not a crime."

Francis referred back to his previous comments and repeated that such laws are "unjust." He also reiterated that parents should never throw their Gay children out of the house.

"To condemn someone like this is a sin," he said. "Criminalizing people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice."

"People with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them," he added.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, recalled that LGBTQ rights were very much on the current agenda of the Church of England, and said he would quote the Pope's own words when the issue is discussed at the church's upcoming General Synod.

"I wish I had spoken as eloquently and clearly as the Pope. I entirely agree with every word he said," Welby said.

The Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, the Presbyterian moderator of the Church of Scotland, who also participated in the pilgrimage and news conference, concurred with his colleagues' remarks.

"There is nowhere in my reading of the four Gospels where I see Jesus turning anyone away," he said. "There is nowhere in the four Gospels where I see anything other than Jesus expressing love to whomever he meets.

"And as Christians, that is the only expression that we can possibly give to any human being, in any circumstance."

The Roman Catholic Church holds that sex outside of marriage — defined as a church-blessed, lifelong union of a man and a woman — is sinful and that same-sex acts are "intrinsically disordered," but Pope Francis has placed far more emphasis than his predecessors on acceptance and openness to LGBTQ Catholics.

The Anglican Church — of which the Episcopalian Church in the US is an affiliate — does not conduct same-sex marriages, but Welby recently announced that it would "bless" same-sex couples. Conservative Anglican bishops, many from Africa, said they would no longer follow Welby's leadership as a result.

The Church of Scotland allows same-sex marriages.

Same-sex relationships are illegal in South Sudan.