The cardinals sent the pope a series of formal questions, known as “dubia“(“doubts” in Latin), on matters related to a world meeting that begins at the Vatican on Wednesday.
One of them dealt with the practice, relatively common in places like Germany, of priests blessing same-sex couples who are in a committed relationship.
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’ responses.
In his seven-point response, Francis said that the church is very clear that the sacrament of marriage can only be between a man and a woman and open to procreation and that the church must avoid any other ritual or sacramental rite that contradicts this teaching. .
However, he said that “pastoral charity must permeate all our decisions and attitudes,” adding that “we cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude.”
Sometimes requests for blessings are a means through which people draw closer to God to live better, even if some acts are “objectively unacceptable from a moral point of view,” he added.
Francis DeBernardo, CEO of New Ways Ministry, which promotes the church’s outreach to LGBT Catholics, said that while the response was not a “full, ringing endorsement” of such blessings, it was very welcome.