Opinion Express View on Pope Francis and same-sex unions: Pontiff’s blessings
Pope Francis's order stops short of Church recognising same-sex marriage, but is still a message for inclusion
In these 10 years, the pontiff has sought to jump-start discussions on the church’s most sensitive topics, none of them as contentious as non-heterosexual unions. 
In 2013, Pope Francis, barely five months into the papacy, answered a reporter’s query on homosexuality in a manner very different from the Roman Catholic orthodoxy. “If someone is gay and searches for the Lord… who am I to judge,” he said.
In these 10 years, the pontiff has sought to jump-start discussions on the church’s most sensitive topics, none of them as contentious as non-heterosexual unions.
In 2020, he backed same-sex civil unions. The pope has now authorised a major change in the Roman Catholic world by allowing priests to bless same-sex couples.
The order comes with a caveat. Such blessings should not offer the impression of a marriage, the Vatican’s doctrinal office said. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that marriage is between man and woman and any sexual relationship outside a marriage is wrong.
How then should one read the pontiff’s latest order? Francis has said that the church should oppose laws that criminalise non-heterosexual behaviour — significant because such laws in several parts of the world have clerical support.
At the same time, an increasing number of priests have been working to reconcile the church with civil rights concepts. In 2018, for instance, German bishops reacted to the legalisation of gay marriage in the country by acknowledging that “it is now a political reality”.
Francis draws inspiration from within Roman Catholicism — its tradition of compassion. This does create ambiguities — he once described homosexuality as “a sin but not crime”. Even then, the pontiff’s latest order is probably his strongest message on inclusion.
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