Pope Leo XIV. has criticized the formalized blessing of same-sex couples by the Catholic Church in Germany. He made the remarks on his flight back to Rome from his Africa trip, stating that the Holy See disagrees. The criticism targets a recent decision by Cardinal Reinhard Marx in the Munich and Freising diocese.
Pope Leo XIV. voiced criticism of blessings for same-sex couples on his return flight from Equatorial Guinea to Rome. "The Holy See has already spoken with the German bishops," he told journalists. "The Holy See has made it clear that we do not agree with the formalized blessing of couples—in this case same-sex couples or couples in irregular situations."
The statement responds to Cardinal Reinhard Marx, former chairman of the German Bishops' Conference. He recently permitted blessings of same-sex couples in his Munich and Freising diocese. This is based on a recommendation from the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics from last year. Such blessings are already common practice in many German dioceses.
In late 2023, the late Pope Francis allowed such blessings with restrictions: they must not be confused with marriage, contain no wedding-like elements, and not occur during liturgy.
Pope Leo XIV. highlighted bigger issues: "It is very important to understand that the unity or division of the Church should not revolve around questions of sexuality. [...] In reality, I believe there are much larger and more important topics like justice, equality, freedom of man and woman, freedom of religion." He cautioned that going beyond Francis's "tutti, tutti, tutti" formulation could cause disunity. The Catholic Church in Africa rejects such blessings.
