Pope Francis Allows Catholic Priests To Bless LGBTQ Couple

• The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis has authorised priests to bless same-sex couples as a sign of welcoming the LGBTQ community of the Roman Catholic Church
• According to the Pope, this move does not change the Roman Catholic Church's stand on marriages which is still between men and women
• This comes months after the Vatican Leader suggested that he was open to blessing same-gender marriages

Pope Francis has allowed priests to bless same-gender couples, which has now been considered an important move for the LGBTQ community who fellowship in the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope, who is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, said that priests should be permitted to bless same-sex couples and irregular couples under certain circumstances.

How Pope Francis's move helps same-sex coupes

According to CNN, the Vatican said blessings should not be part of regular Church rituals or related to civil unions or weddings. It also added that it continues to view marriage as between a man and a woman.

Pope Francis approved a document issued by the Vatican announcing the change on Monday. The Vatican said it should be a sign that "God welcomes all", but the document says priests must decide on a case-by-case basis.

He added that during the ritual, the couples should not show up in a dress that suggests a wedding set-up, and language that would suggest the same should not be used.

"When the prayer of blessing is requested by a couple in an irregular situation, even though it is expressed outside the rites prescribed by the liturgical books, this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding. The same applies when the blessing is requested by a same-sex couple.

Pastoral prudence and wisdom—avoiding all serious forms of scandal and confusion among the faithful—may suggest that the ordained minister join in the prayer of those persons who, although in a union that cannot be compared in any way to a marriage, desire to entrust themselves to the Lord and his mercy, to invoke his help, and to be guided to a greater understanding of his plan of love and of truth," document reads in part.

Introducing the text, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Church, said that the new declaration remained "firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage".

Pope criticises LGBTQ laws

Earlier in January, Pope Francis became the first Pope to openly show support for the LGBTQ+ community, urging that they should not be marginalised.

The man of God bashed laws that have criminalised the queer community, saying God loves everybody as they are.

He branded the laws unjust and urged the Catholic church to welcome everyone and not discriminate.

The pope's remarks came ahead of his trip to Africa, where anti-LGBTQ+ laws are a common occurrence.

"We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity. These bishops have to have a process of conversion. They should apply tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us," he said.