By Nick HALLET

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Leo XIV says formalised ceremonies exceed Vatican limits set under Francis.

Pope Leo XIV has publicly rebuked the expansion of same-sex blessings in Germany, warning that efforts to formalise such practices risk deepening divisions within the global Catholic Church.

Speaking to journalists aboard the papal flight from Malabo to Rome on Thursday, the pontiff addressed the controversial decision by Cardinal Reinhard Marx to introduce structured blessings for homosexual couples in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

“The Holy See has already spoken to the German bishops,” Leo said. “We do not agree with the formalised blessing of couples… beyond what was specifically allowed for by Pope Francis.”

His remarks mark the clearest intervention yet from Rome since Marx instructed clergy to adopt a pastoral framework that facilitates blessings for same-sex couples and others in so-called “irregular” relationships. The German initiative includes training programmes for priests and provisions requiring clergy who object to refer couples to more willing colleagues.

While the Vatican’s 2023 declaration under Pope Francis permitted informal, non-liturgical blessings, it explicitly warned against creating rituals or structures that could resemble marriage. Critics argue the German approach crosses that line.

Leo struck a notably different tone from the German bishops, downplaying the centrality of sexual ethics in the Church’s moral teaching. “The unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters,” he said, pointing instead to broader concerns such as justice, religious freedom, and human dignity.

At the same time, however, he cautioned that pushing beyond the limits set by Rome could prove counterproductive. “To go beyond that today… can cause more disunity than unity,” he said, urging the Church to ground its unity in “what Jesus Christ teaches.”

The Pope reiterated the Church’s universal call to welcome all people—echoing Francis’s phrase “tutti, tutti, tutti”—but framed this in terms of individual blessing and conversion, rather than the recognition of relationships. “All are invited… to follow Jesus, and all are invited to look for conversion in their lives,” he said.

The intervention underscores a growing rift within the Catholic Church, particularly between more progressive currents in Germany and more conservative voices elsewhere, including in Africa and parts of Eastern Europe, where opposition to same-sex blessings remains strong.

In Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has already rejected the German guidelines outright, arguing they exceed Vatican limits and risk blurring the distinction between pastoral care and doctrine.

Original article:  europeanconservative.com