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Pope approves blessings — not marriage — for same-sex couples

Document: people seeking God’s love shouldn’t be subject to ‘an exhaustive moral analysis’ to receive it
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FILE - Pope Francis, right, blesses a newly wed couple during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, on Feb. 4, 2015. Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document released Monday Dec. 18, 2023 explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.

The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October.

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