Pope Francis has suggested that the Catholic Church could bless same-sex marriage by clerics, as part of the move to reform the governance of the church.
The Pope made this known in his opening address at the ongoing General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which gathers in the wake of an unprecedented two-year global consultation that will also address topics such as women deacons and priestly celibacy, and it will take place over four weeks in St Peter’s Square, in Rome.
Since assuming the papacy in 2013, Francis has worked to reform the governance of the church, striving to make it less hierarchical and more attentive to the needs of the faithful, but has met stiff internal resistance along the way.
The Pope who insisted that the church only recognises marriage between a man and a woman, said that they cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude, recommending pastoral prudence.
He vowed to open doors to everyone despite tensions with conservatives on issues from the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning (LGBTQ) to the treatment of divorcees.
The Pope in his opening address, seeks to make the church of 1.3 billion faithful more tolerant amid changing social norms and demographics, including the growth of Christianity outside the West.
“The church is here for you! The church of open doors is for everyone, everyone, everyone. In such a complex time as ours, new cultural and pastoral challenges emerge that call for a warm and kindly inner attitude so that we can encounter each other without fear,” he said.
He warned against a rigid church, saying that he hoped the forum would avoid human strategies, political calculations, or ideological battles.
The Pope, however, said the intention was not to carry out a parliamentary meeting or a plan of reformation, but that they were there to walk together with the gaze of Jesus.
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