Pope Leo XIV confirms stance on equal marriage

A Vatican official has confirmed Pope Leo XIV’s stance on gay marriage.

According to the National Catholic Reporter, cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the head of the dicastery for the doctrine of the faith, told an Italian reporter last week that same-sex blessings would continue. Asked if the pope would backtrack, he replied: “I really don’t think so, the declaration will remain.”

The declaration, approved by Leo’s predecessor, made clear that such blessings could not be compared to marriage.

Leo has previously said that family is “founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman”, but added: “No one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike.”

While Pope Leo XIV has commented on some social issues in the past – including immigration policies of the Trump Administration and expressing sympathy for the death of George Floyd – he has made much less positive statements about the queer community.

In 2012, then-head of the Augustinian order, he was critical of entertainment media that held “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” including the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children”.

Leo became the head of the Catholic Church after a two-day papal conclave following the death of Pope Francis in April.

Francis had faced criticism from the more-conservative bishops for backing same-sex blessings.

Some claimed that the decision contradicted the Church’s stance on gay marriage and homosexuality, and Francis later clarified that he supported blessings for LGBTQ+ individuals, but not their unions.

He told Italian magazine Credere: “I do not bless a homosexual marriage. I bless two people who care for each other, and I also ask them to pray for me. The blessing is not to be denied to anyone. Everyone, everyone. Mind you, I am talking about those who are capable of receiving baptism.” 

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