Pope Francis appears to open door to alternate blessings for gay couples

Pope Francis suggested he was open to alternate blessings for same-sex couples in a recent letter, signaling a shift from the Vatican's current position that the church cannot bless gay unions.

The Vatican on Monday released a letter from Francis, dated Sept. 25, responding to a group of five conservative cardinals who pressed the pope on affirming the church's teachings on homosexuality, women's ordination and other hot-button topics.

In the letter, which was first reported Monday by the National Catholic Reporter (NCR), Francis suggested such blessings could be studied as long as they are not confused with sacramental marriage.

According to the NCR's translation of the letter, Francis emphasized the church's long-standing teaching that marriage is an indissoluble union between man and woman, while arguing it is important for the church not to "lose pastoral charity, which must be part of all our decisions and attitudes."

Francis defended the church's teachings as objective truth but reportedly stressed this does not mean church leaders "become judges who only deny, reject, exclude."

“For this reason, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of benediction, requested by one or more persons, that do not transmit a mistaken conception of marriage," Francis wrote in the letter, according to a translation from The Associated Press.

While noting some situations are objectively "not morally acceptable," Francis said the same "pastoral charity" requires people be treated as sinners who might not be fully at fault for their situations, according to the AP.

The Vatican's current official position states the church is not allowed to bless gay unions because "God cannot bless sin."

Francis has previously shown support for civil laws that would extend protections for same-sex couples.

The Vatican's publishing of the letter comes days ahead of the Synod of Bishops, where the Vatican is slated to address hot-topic issues including the integration of LBGTQ+ Catholics, the potential for woman deacons and access to the priesthood for married men, NCR reported.

The five cardinals, all reportedly from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, made their original questions to the pope — formally known as dubia — public earlier in the day Monday.

Apparently not satisfied with Francis's response, the cardinals said they submitted the questions again on Aug. 21, asking the pope to respond with a "yes or no." When the pope did not, the cardinals made the texts public and issued a "notification" warning to the faithful, the AP reported.