Pope Francis extolled the virtues of sex in a documentary released on Wednesday, describing it as “one of the beautiful things that God has given to man,” Reuters reported. The 86-year-old pontiff was commenting on the Disney+ production “The Pope Answers,” which chronicles a meeting he had last year in Rome with 10 people in their 20s.

They questioned Francis on a variety of topics, including LGBT rights, abortion, the porn industry, sex and faith, and sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

“Sex is one of the beautiful things that God gave to man,” he said in the documentary.

“Sexual expression is wealth. So anything that diminishes true sexual expression diminishes you and robs you of that richness,” he said, referring to masturbation. “The expression of love is probably the center of sexual activity,” he added, L’Osservatore Romano reported.

Francis was also asked if he knew what a “non-binary person” was, and he said yes. He reiterated that LGBT people should be welcomed in the Catholic Church.

“All people are children of God, all persons. God does not reject anyone, God is a father. And I have no right to expel anyone from the Church,” he said.

On abortion, Francis said priests should be “merciful” to women who terminate pregnancies, but said the practice remains unacceptable.

“It’s good when everything is announced. It’s one thing to accompany a person who has had one (abortion), it’s quite another to justify the act,” he said.

The Pope’s remarks were published by L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s official newspaper, which described his conversation with the youth as an “open and honest dialogue”.