The new pope will continue to bless same-sex couples, marking a complex but significant moment for LGBTQ Catholics around the world. Pope Leo XIV, who once denounced what he called the “homosexual lifestyle,” will uphold his predecessor’s groundbreaking 2023 decision allowing priests to bless queer unions. That’s according to Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, head of the Vatican’s doctrine office. When asked whether Pope Leo would revoke these blessings, Fernández responded:
“I really don’t think so. The declaration will remain.”
These blessings do not equate to same-sex marriage, which the Church still forbids.
LGBTQ advocates are reacting cautiously to this news. Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry said,
“We pray that in the 13 years that have passed, 12 of which were under the papacy of Pope Francis, that his heart and mind have developed more progressively on LGBTQ+ issues…and we will take a wait-and-see attitude to see if that has happened.”
Though now signaling a more inclusive stance, Pope Leo—then Bishop Robert Prevost—once criticized media portrayals of queer families as too sympathetic. He lamented how alternative families like that of same-sex partners and their adopted children are so sympathetically portrayed in television programs and cinema.
