Pope Francis has written to a group of Maltese parents of LGBTQ persons, in response to their criticism of a recent Vatican document that condemned gender theory and gender-affirming surgeries, the National Catholic Reporter reports.

The pontiff told the parents he received their critique with an "open heart."

On April 30, Pope Francis sent a brief letter to Drachma Parents praising what he described as their "very beautiful and good" work, according to the report.

Both the pope's letter and the original correspondence from the Drachma Parents were reviewed by the National Catholic Reporter. Drachma asked NCR that the full contents of Francis' correspondence remain private.

In their original April 23 letter to Francis, Drachma alleged that the Vatican text, released on April 8 and titled Dignitas Infinita, makes it more difficult for transgender Catholics and their parents to remain in the church and fails to understand the concrete realities of such families, NCR reported.

They argued that the Vatican declaration makes it more difficult for parents to accompany LGBTQ children, fails to recognize the complexity of issues around gender and sexuality and is inconsistent with the pope's own approach of pastoral outreach.

The National Catholic Reporter artice may be accessed here