"It was at this time that Pope Francis took over and ushered in a new era. An era where everyone is welcomed into the church regardless of their sexual orientation."

I would suggest that this is an overly optimistic statement. Francis has suggested that he would like such a thing, but he has not ushered in such an era, certainly not where I live in the United States.

Church policy toward LGBTQ people here is mixed, but many dioceses, including in my state of Michigan, LGBTQ people are explicitly barred from the sacraments, meaning from almost all life of the church, even from burial in church cemeteries. Catholic schools across the U.S. are increasingly barring LGBTQ students and even the children of LGBTQ parents. I recently wrote about a document the Denver Post discovered and released to the public in which the Denver archdiocese spells such a policy out in detail.

Catholic schools and churches have been purging gay and trans staff like teachers, musicians, counselors, and social workers in increasing numbers since about 2015. The numbers of such firings are rising.

Francis has not acted to make the church more welcoming to gay and trans people in the U.S., nor has he spoken out against increasingly prevalent anti-LGBTQ actions by U.S. bishops.

So I'm not seeing this "new era" of welcoming that you describe.