In an apparent reversal of previous statements, Pope Francis has suggested for the first time that individuals in same-sex unions could be blessed by Catholic clerics on a "case-by-case" basis.

In response to a letter from five conservative cardinals with formal questions - called a "dubia" (Latin for "doubt") - which is an official request for a yes or no answer from a sitting pontiff regarding his leadership of the Church, the Pope made the suggestion in a letter to his harshest critics within the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis Suggests Blessings Same-Sex Unions

On July 10, Walter Brandmuller, Raymond Leo Burke, Juan Sandoval Iniguez, Robert Sarah, and Joseph Zen Ze-kiun sent the letter to Pope Francis for the first time. It centered on an imminent October meeting of bishops, asking what effect it could have on Church doctrine, and included queries about the Pope's intention to bless same-sex unions and whether he intends to open the door to women priests through ordination.

Unsatisfied with the Pope's initial response, according to a blog post by American Cardinal Raymond Burke, the five cardinals reworded and resent the "dubia" letter on August 21, citing "the gravity of the matter."

Per CNN, the Vatican then issued a letter in Spanish dated September 25 and signed by the Vatican's new head of doctrine, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández. Pope Francis' responses to the dubia are included in the rejoinder, which is signed "Francis."

The pontiff reiterated that the church only recognizes marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but opened the door for blessings of individuals in same-sex unions, as evidenced by the letter.

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Pope Francis Responds to Cardinal Critics

According to the Vatican, marriage is an unbreakable union between a man and a woman. As a consequence, it has opposed homosexual marriage for decades. However, Pope Francis has expressed support for civil laws extending legal benefits to same-sex spouses, and Catholic clerics in certain regions of Europe have blessed same-sex unions without Vatican reprimand.

Pope Francis' response to the cardinals contradicts the Vatican's current official position. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explained in 2021 that the church could not bless homosexual unions because "God cannot bless sin."

He reiterated in his new letter that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. In response to the cardinals' query regarding homosexual unions and blessings, however, he stated that "pastoral charity" required tolerance and understanding, and that priests could not become "judges who only deny, reject, and exclude."

According to The Guardian, he stated that there are situations that are objectively "not morally acceptable," but "pastoral charity" requires that people be regarded as sinners who may not be wholly responsible for their circumstances.

Pope Francis added that there was no need for dioceses or bishops' conferences to transform such pastoral charity into fixed norms or protocols, explaining that the matter could be handled on a case-by-case basis "because the life of the church flows through channels beyond norms."

Related Article: 5 Cardinals Publish 'Dubia' vs. Pope Francis Ahead of October Synod