Pope puts the brakes on the blessing of homosexual couples

The Pope was reacting to the actions of the former chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who has officially permitted the formal blessing of homosexual couples in his diocese of Munich and Freising. This is based on a recommendation by the Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics. At the end of 2023, Pope Francis, who has since passed away, permitted blessings with restrictions.

Leo calls words of predecessor "notorious"

His successor now explained on the plane that the Vatican "does not agree with formal blessings of homosexual couples beyond what was allowed by Pope Francis when he said that all can receive the blessing". Leo then added: "Francis' infamous phrase "tutti, tutti, tutti" ("all, all, all") is an expression of the Catholic Church's conviction that all are welcome and invited to follow Jesus."

Several dioceses in Germany interpret this differently. Munich's Marx, who has good access to Pope Leo, belongs to this progressive camp. Homosexual couples can also be blessed in Limburg, Trier and Rottenburg-Stuttgart. In more conservative dioceses such as Cologne, Regensburg and Passau, however, the Bishops' Conference's guidelines are not applied.

Leo: Morality for the church is more than sexual morality

Catholic priests in Germany have already blessed gay or lesbian couples in the past. In doing so, however, they were operating in a gray area of church law. That is different now. However, a church wedding is still taboo in Germany. In the Catholic Church, marriage is reserved solely for a man and a woman.

On the flight home, Leo told journalists traveling with him: "We have a tendency to think that when the Church talks about morality, it only talks about sexual morality. In reality, I believe there are much bigger and more important issues such as justice, equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion."

The head of 1.4 billion Catholics has visited Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea over the past week and a half on his longest foreign trip to date. The next foreign destination on the agenda is Spain in June. There he will also discuss the continuing movement of refugees from Africa to Europe.

Treat refugees "no worse than pets"

After a total of eleven days in Africa, Leo called for better international efforts to combat the causes of flight. In addition to richer countries, multinational corporations must also make a contribution. Africa is still seen by many as a continent from which natural resources and riches can be taken. On the fate of the refugees, the Pope said: "They are human beings. And we must treat them like human beings, in a human way - and no worse than pets."

Leo was elected as the successor to Argentinean Francis in May last year - he is the first pontiff in church history from the USA. His criticism of US President Donald Trump has earned him many points in Germany in recent weeks. With his statements on the blessing of homosexual couples, however, he is sticking to a conservative line.