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Pope Leo XIV clarified on Thursday that the Catholic Church will adhere to the precedent set by Pope Francis regarding blessings for same-sex couples, stating there will be no formalized blessings in the future.
While acknowledging the decision made by Pope Francis in 2023, Pope Leo XIV, speaking during his return flight to Rome, underscored that the Church does not intend to expand upon this policy.
Pope Francis had previously allowed clergy to offer blessings to same-sex couples on an informal basis, outside of official ritual services, and evaluated individually, as reported by Reuters.
Pope Leo’s recent statements came in response to efforts by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who sought to formalize blessings for same-sex couples within his jurisdiction.
“The Vatican has been clear in its stance against the formal blessing of couples—specifically same-sex couples or those in irregular unions—beyond the provisions made by Pope Francis, who emphasized the importance of blessings for all individuals,” Pope Leo stated.
“When a priest gives the blessing at the end of Mass, when the Pope gives the blessing at the end of a great celebration like the one we had today, there are blessings for all people,” he continued. “Francis’s famous expression, ‘everyone, everyone, everyone,’ expresses the Church’s conviction that everyone is welcomed, everyone is invited, everyone is invited to follow Jesus, and everyone is invited to seek conversion in their own lives. To go beyond this today, I believe, could cause more disunity than unity, and that we should seek to build our unity on Jesus Christ and on what Jesus Christ teaches.”
The pope, however, did affirm that Catholic teaching encompasses a wide variety of intellectual and philosophical thoughts beyond sexual morality.
“We tend to think that when the Church is talking about morality, that the only issue of morality is sexual,” he said. “In reality, I believe there are much greater and more important issues such as justice, equality, (and) freedom of men and women.”