Vatican announcement on same-sex blessings pushes boundaries

Same-sex couples take part in a public blessing ceremony in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, on Sept. 20, 2023. [AP Photo]

Pope Francis, leader of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, announced this week that priests are now allowed to bless the relationships of same-sex couples and others in what the church refers to as "irregular situations," a change expected to generate mixed reactions among the religion's widespread and diverse communities.

The announcement, in the form of a papal declaration titled "Fiducia Supplicans on the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings," appears to overturn a 2021 ruling issued by the same office of the Vatican, which found that such blessings were impermissible because the church "cannot bless sin."