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Pope Francis is now allowing priests to bless same-sex couples but with one big stipulation

His logic makes a lot of sense.

via Casa Rosada/Wikimedia Commons and Polina Tankilevitch/Pexels

A same-sex couple and Pope Francis.

Pope Francis has made a radical shift in Catholic Church doctrine by allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. The Vatican announced the change on Monday, December 18, in a document that outlined the new policy.

The change is one of Francis' most dramatic in his 10 years as pope.

However, even though the document feels like a softening of discriminatory policies within the Church, it’s also a clear statement that it still believes marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman. The policy also states that although priests can now bless same-sex couples, they must not be tied to any specific Catholic celebration or religious service or seen as a civil union ceremony.

The blessings may not involve clothing, gestures, or rituals that belong in a wedding.

The document is a reversal of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 2021 statement that the Church cannot bless same-sex unions because "God cannot bless sin."

The Pope’s rationale for the change in doctrine is his belief that requesting a blessing, regardless of one’s lifestyle, shows an openness to a relationship with God, so it shouldn’t be denied.

"One should not prevent or prohibit the Church's closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God's help through a simple blessing," the document from the Vatican's doctrine office says.

"Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God," the document continues. "The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live."

"Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it," the document said.

The Pope’s decision to allow priests to bless same-sex relationships is another bold move in a papacy defined by greater LGBTQ inclusivity. A few months into his papacy, when approached about a priest’s sexuality, Pope Francis asked, “Who am I to judge?” Earlier this year, in an interview with the Associated Press, the Pope said “Being homosexual isn’t a crime.” Last month, the Vatican said trans people can be baptized as godparents.

The decision has caused debate among leaders in the Catholic Church.

“The significance of this news cannot be overstated,” Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry, which supports LGBTQ+ Catholics, said, according to NBC News. “It is one thing to formally approve same-gender blessings, which he had already pastorally permitted, but to say that people should not be subjected to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive God’s love and mercy is an even more significant step.”

However, the news is troubling to some conservative Catholics.

“The Vatican’s statement is, in my view, the most unfortunate public announcement in decades,” University of Notre Dame theologian Ulrich Lehner said in a statement. “Moreover, some bishops will use it as a pretext to do what the document explicitly forbids, especially since the Vatican has not stopped them before. It is—and I hate to say it—an invitation to schism.”

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pope francis

An unexpected response from the pope may signal an important shift in the Catholic Church's views on queer identity.

Photo by Marvin Recinos/AFP/Getty Images.

According to CNN, Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of a Chilean priest, spent three days in April 2018 with Pope Francis at the Vatican. During the visit, Cruz discussed his sexuality with the pope, which sparked a surprising response.

"You know Juan Carlos, that does not matter," Cruz says the pope told him. "God made you like this. God loves you like this. The pope loves you like this, and you should love yourself and not worry about what people say."

Photo by Ettore Ferrari/AFP/Getty Images.

Though the Vatican has declined to comment on the conversation — with Vatican spokesperson Greg Burke telling CNN that "We do not normally comment on the pope's private conversations" — social media users around the world were quick to comment on the unusually progressive view of queer identity from the church.

— (@)

Given the church's history with queer individuals, the pope's alleged comments are an important — albeit incipient — move toward progress.

From pushing gay leaders out of the church to condemning queer congregants, the church's problematic history has understandably caused many individuals to leave the church or disregard it entirely.

Photo by Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

The pope himself is far from perfect, too. He's declined to apologize about the Catholic Church's past problematic behavior toward indigenous communities, and he still doesn't affirm transgender individuals. Yet one would be remiss to not acknowledge that he is easily the most progressive pope in the Church's history and has frustrated many traditionalists in the church with his nonjudgmental comments on gay marriage, his movement toward holding the Church accountable for its role in systematic sexual abuse, his unique beliefs on the existence of hell, and his history of acknowledging climate change.

Photo by Max Rossi/AFP/Getty Images.

He's complicated and imperfect, but for many queer Christians and Catholics, the pope's words are meaningful.

Queer people don't owe anything to the Catholic Church nor do they need the church's support to live their best and brightest lives. But, it's impossible to negate the profound impact of religion — both positive and negative — on many individuals' lives, including people who identify under the LGBTQ umbrella. Many queer people do find religion deeply important, and they deserve to have a leader who affirms their livelihood.

World faith leaders delivered a rare joint statement. Here's what they had to say.

The pope, the Dalai Lama, and Ayatollah Sayyid Fadhel Al-Milani have an important message for you: Make friends.

Created by the Elijah Interfaith Institute, an interfaith organization fostering unity and diversity, the unique video project features 22 holy leaders coming together to urge people to seek out others who may practice religion and faith differently than they do and unite in friendship.

All GIFs via Make Friends/YouTube.

The leaders call on people to make a sincere effort to forge personal connections...

...by listening and conversing — but mostly listening.

When we get to know people who exist outside our individual silos created by geography, class, race, or religion, we can learn a lot about ourselves and others who share our communities.

It's no secret that disagreements over religion can lead to negativity, distrust, discrimination and violence, but the stewards of faith believe the antidote to these social ills is understanding, friendship, and building community.

Whether or not you subscribe to religious teachings or beliefs, making friends with people who are different than you is sound advice.

Plus, there's a psychological basis to back it up. Research conducted by eminent psychologist professor Robert Zajonc demonstrated that coming across something (or, in this case, someone) creates familiarity, and that familiarity makes you like the person, idea, or thing more than you did before you were first introduced. It's called the mere-exposure effect.

In the case of making new friends, if you live in New York City and you get to know someone from Savannah, Georgia, your opinion about people from the South may be higher than it was before you met your new friend, and vice versa.

Imam Mohamed Magid holds hands with a Jewish faith leader during a press conference with an interfaith coalition after the U.S. presidential election and rising hate crimes outside the Masjid Muhammad, the Nation's Mosque, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.

Something as easy as introducing ourselves may be the first step to ending hurtful rhetoric and improving relationships across demographic barriers.

If nothing else, we can make new friends along the way. It certainly doesn't hurt to try.

Interfaith religious leaders show support for the Muslim community outside the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Illinois. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Heroes

The pope just gave Trump this gift. It's a powerful wake-up call for the president.

On May 24, 2017, President Trump met the pope. Trump called the meeting "a great honor," according to Reuters, and it seemed to go well, even though the two have sparred before.

During the meeting, the pope urged Trump to be a peacemaker.

Photo from Alessandra Tarantino/AFP/Getty Images.

On the way out the door, the two exchanged gifts, most of which seemed to fit the peace theme: a set of books by Martin Luther King Jr. for the pope, a medallion sculpted with an olive tree for Trump — as in literally a bunch of olive branches. (Maybe not the most subtle .... )

But there was another gift that stood out: a letter from the pope on climate change.

Back in 2015, Pope Francis wrote a letter to the world critiquing consumerism and the destruction of the environment, and calling for humanity to recognize and combat climate change.

With any other president, this might seem like a simple reminder. But considering thatTrump has called climate change a hoax and proposed cuts to many environmental offices and regulations while in office, it comes across as a pointed bit of extra homework.

But since the meeting centered on peace, reminding Trump about climate change makes perfect sense.

Climate change doesn't just affect plants and animals. It affects people, too. Droughts, famines, and sea level rise make climate change an accelerant of instability, according to the Department of Defense.

In short, one of the best ways to promote peace is to take care of both the planet and each other.

The two messages — promoting peace and protecting the environment — are pretty well linked.

Trump reportedly promised to read the letter. Let's hope he does.

Heroes

The pope has some blunt opinions about taking care of the Earth.

It's not a stretch to say that Pope Francis has been a bit of a surprise.

Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images.

Let's see. First, there was the fact that the previous pope, Benedict XVI, stepped down — the first resignation since 1415. So that was already a pretty big deal.

Then the Vatican elected, of all people, this guy — a Jesuit, which had never happened before; a person from the Western Hemisphere, which had never happened before; and a non-European, which hadn't happened since the 700s!

Then the surprises continued, with his remarkably tolerant statements about gay priests and atheists (although he's still pretty conservative on other topics, like birth control and trans people).

One very pleasant surprise, at least for me, has been just how much Pope Francis seems to care about the environment.

Pope Francis addressing the United Nations in 2015. Part of his message was confronting climate change and ecological degradation. Photo from Bryan Thomas/Getty Images.

Science and religion haven't always gotten along. But when it comes to the environment, Pope Francis has been an outspoken supporter. On Sept. 1, the Catholic Church's World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (which he started, by the way), Pope Francis said: "We must not be indifferent or resigned to the loss of biodiversity and the destruction of ecosystems, often caused by our irresponsible and selfish behaviour."

When we take care of the Earth, we're taking care of each other too.

"Human beings are deeply connected with all of creation. When we mistreat nature, we also mistreat human beings," the pope said.

Environmental degradation, pollution, and climate change affect people all across the world, and Francis pointed out that it's disproportionately people who are already suffering — such as the poor or refugees — who bear the brunt of it.

Droughts and other natural disasters are likely to become more severe and common as climate change worsens. Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images.

Thus, fixing the environment goes hand in hand with addressing other problems.

"To give polluted water to someone who is thirsty doesn't make sense," Vatican panelist and author Terrence Ward said. "You have to clean it up first."

Pope Francis even gave examples of what we can do to make the world a better place.

He suggested consuming less, showing care for other living things, and planting trees, for example. He also highlighted the 2015 Paris Agreement as a step forward and advocated for citizens to push for "even more ambitious goals."

Pope Francis even suggested that caring for the planet should be added to the seven Corporal Works of Mercy, which would put taking care of the Earth on the same level as charitable actions like feeding the hungry and giving alms to the poor.

It's tremendous to see this marriage of mercy, responsibility, and environmental stewardship broadcast to such a large audience.

After all, there are more than a billion Catholics in the world.

Although maybe we shouldn't betoo surprised that the pope's so concerned with the environment. After all, he did take his papal name from St. Francis of Assisi. And while the pope said it was because of St. Francis' care of the poor, St. Francis does just so happen to be the patron saint of animals and ecology, too. Just saying.

From 1942 to 1944, at least 1.1 million people were killed at the Nazi concentration camp known as Auschwitz.

Many of us learn about this in history class or see the horrifying grainy, black and white photographs of human beings lined up for execution.

Images like those are haunting and important to see, but no experience can come close to actually visiting the camp, which now operates as a memorial to those who were killed inside its gates.

The German phrase above the entrance gate translates to "Work sets you free." Photo by Keystone/GettyImages.

On July 29, 2016, Pope Francis visited Auschwitz for the first time. He didn't speak a single word on record, but the images of his visit speak for themselves.

Auschwitz was home to one of the darkest chapters in modern human history, and today it's a reminder of the ugliness of hate.

More than 70 years after Auschwitz was liberated, there are still many who deny that the Holocaust ever happened. In 2016, we're dealing with an ongoing refugee crisis and vocal anti-immigrant sentiment as the result of xenophobia rocketing through Europe and the United States — stark reminders that the ugliness of hate is not something left in the past.

The striking visual of the Pope walking alone, his head hung low in somber prayer and reflection, through streets that were once filled with the dead and the dying, shows how very real it was.

Pope Francis entering Auschwitz. Photo by Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images.

His visit is a reminder that we shouldn't ever let this happen again.

Photo by Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images.

Pope Francis spent the first minutes of his visit to Auschwitz sitting on a bench praying, according to a report in The Guardian.

Photo by Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images.

He also spent several minutes alone in the cell of Maximilian Kolbe, a priest who volunteered to take the place of a prisoner selected for death. Kolbe died on Aug. 14, 1941, and was later canonized by Pope John Paul II.

Pope Francis met and prayed with several Holocaust survivors, paid a visit to neighboring concentration camp Birkenau, and prayed with Poland's chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich.

Photo by Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images.

Before leaving, he signed the guestbook with a simple and powerful message that speaks to religion as something that should bring us together, not set us apart.

“Lord, have pity on your people," Pope Francis wrote. "Lord, forgive so much cruelty.”

Photo by Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images.

History's latest gladiator match took place Thursday when His Holiness Pope Francis took on His Hairpiece Donald Trump.

The pope and Donald Trump came to blows when, while flying from Mexico back to Rome, the pontiff said, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."

He didn't directly address Trump, who has famously doubled- and tripled-down on his plans to build the (biggest, best, most beautiful) wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and the Vatican has clarified that the pope did not mean his comment as a personal attack on the business-mogul-turned-GOP-presidential-candidate.

But Trump was not happy about the comment.

“For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful," Trump fired back at the pope in South Carolina, where he was addressing a packed room at a golf resort.

Forget Batman vs. Superman. This is the best.

"And then he said I was 'disgraceful.' No, seriously! He actually said that," I want to imagine the pope said. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Of all the words to call the pope, "disgraceful" is certainly an interesting choice.

Coming from the Italian "disgrazia," the word "disgraced" in literal translation means "without grace" or "without the favor of God."

With all the resources available to me, a millennial with Internet access, I don't think I could come up with a more ill-fitting word to describe the pope than one with Italian origins that means "unfavored by God." It'd be like calling turtles "shell-less" or describing coffee as "constipating."

While I doubt Donald looks up the etymology of every word he slings out as an insult, it does point to an interesting trend of his.

Trump insults a lot of people, but he's not actually very good at it.

Besides tossing insults at basically every presidential candidate on the docket, not to mention the entire country of Germany...

...Trump has lambasted a huge array of public figures, institutions, companies, and even concepts. But his choice words consistently reveal some bizarre word choices.

Take this recent tweet referring to NBC anchor Chuck Todd:

Saying Chuck Todd "knows so little about politics" is really very silly.

Chuck Todd has been working in and around politics since at least 1992, when he worked for the presidential campaign of then-Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). After that, he was editor-in-chief of The Hotline, a political news briefing from Atlantic Media, for six years.

Thanks, Donald! Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.

Todd also was NBC News' political director and chief White House correspondent, co-hosted "The Daily Rundown" on MSNBC, and currently hosts NBC's "Meet the Press."

So, while I'm not president of the Chuck Todd Fan Club or anything (It's a thing. They're called Chuckolytes. I'm hoping to run for treasurer.), I think it's safe to say the guy knows a little bit about politics.

How about this tweet insulting CNN's S.E. Cupp...

Cupp, the bespectacled CNN commentator formerly of MSNBC's "The Cycle," got her bachelor's degree from Cornell and her master's from New York University. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Daily News, and many other publications.

Do these glasses make me look loser-y? Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images.

She's been an accomplished writer and commentator since the early 2000s. Oh, and she was also a professional ballet dancer for six years.

If Cupp is a loser, then you can go ahead and sign me up for loserdom as well.

Or how about when he blasted Sen. John McCain?

You may not agree with McCain's politics. But the guy has served in the Senate since 1986. He was in the Navy from 1954 to 1981. He was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and is chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services.

What did the orange man say? Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Real dummy.

Trump also used the same word for Arianna Huffington.

Maybe he's thinking of a different Arianna Huffington?

Because the one I know of was #12 on Forbes' 2009 list of the most influential women in media, as well as one of its 100 most powerful women in the world.

Huffington being a dummy at the Global Women Entrepreneurs Conference in China. Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images.

She's also an accomplished author, media mogul, and co-founder of the Huffington Post. What a dummy!

He called fellow billionaire Mark Cuban a "loser."

Love him or hate him, Cuban went from selling garbage bags to pay for sneakers at 12 years old to owning the Dallas Mavericks. That's the kind of loser I'd love to be some day.

Or the kind of "loser" that becomes attorney general of New York:

Either one would be fine with me.

I'd even be willing to wear a big hat that says "Loser" in big, bright letters on the front. Misspelled, probably, because I also want to be a "dummy."

But nothing beats my personal favorite: when Trump called actor Samuel L. Jackson "boring."

Seriously? Samuel L. Jackson? Boring?!

THIS Samuel L. Jackson?!

GIF via "Pulp Fiction"/YouTube.

The only way you could think Samuel L. "M*****f***ing" "Hold onto your butts" "What does Marsellus Wallace look like?!" "Say 'what' again" Jackson is boring is if you've only seen him in "The Phantom Menace."

I mean, seriously, do you remember when he got eaten by that shark?

GIF via "Deep Blue Sea"/YouTube.

(Spoilers. Sorry.)

The point is, we should all hope to be insulted by Donald Trump.

If he takes the time to berate your intelligence, merit, or ability, it probably means you're doing something right!

Personally, I hope Trump sends an insulting tweet my way. Maybe then I can finally live out my dream of becoming a millionaire actor, media personality, writer, and NBA franchise owner.

Just like all the other dummies and boring people.