The new pope will continue to bless same-sex couples, according to the head of the Vaticans doctrine office. Asked by a journalist if Pope Leo XIV would revoke the blessings put in place by the late Pope Francis, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernndez reportedly replied, I really dont think so. The declaration will remain. Related Last weeks Supreme Court rulings show just how fragile marriage equality may be The right-wing of the Court continues to disregard precedent and place the rights of conservative Christians above everyone elses. In 2023, Pope Francis approved the blessing of same-sex unions, releasing a declaration through the Vaticans Office of the Doctrine of the Faith that allowed priests to do so for the first time. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The declaration did not amend the traditional doctrine of the church about marriage, Fernndez said at the time, because there is no liturgical rite that could be confused with the marriage sacrament. The Church still maintains that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, and the document explains the form of the blessing should not be fixed ritually by ecclesial authorities to avoid producing confusion with the blessing proper to the Sacrament of Marriage.Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God, Fernndez wrote at the time. 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.While Fernndez indicated Pope Leo would continue these blessings, the new head of the Catholic Church has also made it clear he believes in core Catholic teaching opposing same-sex marriage. In a private meeting with the Vatican diplomatic corps earlier this year, he said that governments around the world had the responsibility to build peaceful societies, above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman.In avideo presentationthat surfaced following his election by the conclave, Leo (then-Bishop Robert Prevost) bemoaned the homosexual lifestyle at a gathering of the world Synod of Bishops in 2012.Western mass media is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general public enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel, Prevost said, calling out the homosexual lifestyle specifically. He pointed to how alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children are so benignly and sympathetically portrayed in television programs and cinema today.We pray that in the13years that have passed, 12 of which were under the papacy of Pope Francis, thathis heart and mind have developed more progressively on LGBTQ+ issues, said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ+ ministry, after his election had been announced, and wewill take a wait-and-see attitude to see if that has happened. Asked by the Catholic News Service in 2023 if his views had changed, Prevost acknowledged the popes call for a more inclusive church and said Francis made it very clear that he doesnt want people to be excluded simply on the basis of choices that they make, whether it be lifestyle, work, way to dress, or whatever. But, he added, doctrine had not changed.And people havent said yet were looking for that kind of change, Prevost said. But we are looking to be more welcoming and more open and to say all people are welcome in the church.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.