The Pope is gonna be stoked ... 'cause he just got some serious props from the guy who won "Dancing with the Stars!"
Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon -- the first openly gay U.S. athlete to medal in the Winter Olympics -- says he heard about Pope Francis telling a gay man that his sexuality "does not matter" and thinks it's "so awesome!"
Backstory ... Pope Francis had spent some time back in April with a man who was sexually abused by a priest. When the topic of his sexuality came up, the Pope reportedly said, "God made you like this.