Pope Francis has appeared to leave open the possibility of priests blessing same-sex couples, if they are limited, decided on a case-by-case basis and not confused with wedding ceremonies of heterosexuals.
The cardinals sent the pope a set of formal questions, known as "dubia" , about issues relating to a global gathering that starts at the Vatican on Wednesday.
The written exchange took place in July and the Vatican published the pope's responses on Monday after the five cardinals unilaterally disclosed their initiative, saying they were not satisfied with Francis' answers. In his seven-point response, Francis said the Church was very clear that the sacrament of matrimony could only be between a man and woman and open to procreation and that the Church should avoid any other ritual or sacramental rite that contradicted this teaching.
At times, he said, requests for blessings were a means through which people reached out to God to live better lives, even if some acts were "objectively morally unacceptable".Any eventual blessings, Francis said, should not become the norm or get blanket approval from Church jurisdictions such as dioceses or national bishops conferences.
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