Pope Francis has doubled down on on his position to allow blessings for same-sex couples, saying that the critics are guilty of hypocrisy.
In an interview in the latest edition of Italian magazine Credere, the pope cited the seeming non-issue of blessing exploitative businesspeople, and yet the same blessing is withheld to LGBTQIA people. “No one is scandalized if I give a blessing to an entrepreneur who perhaps exploits people: and that is a most serious sin,” Pope Francis was quoted as saying.
As FYI: In the last quarter of 2023, Pope Francis stated his openness to having the Roman Catholic Church bless same-sex couples, and/or people in it. For him, any request for a blessing should be treated with “pastoral charity”.
But at the start of 2024, the pope had to defend his decision to let priests bless LGBTQIA/same-sex couples, saying that the “Lord blesses everyone”. This came after more conservative bishops particularly from Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America made known their position to refuse to implement the Vatican declaration.
This feeling of being scandalized, the pope said, is hypocritical. “(T)hey are scandalized if I give it to a homosexual… This is hypocrisy! We all have to respect each other. Everyone! The heart of the document is welcome.”
To emphasize: The Vatican blessings for same-sex couples are not of the “union”; instead, it is for the people who request them.
