![Same-sex couples take part in a public blessing ceremony in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, on Sept. 20, 2023. 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/Martin Meissner, File)](https://hagadone.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2023/12/18/AP23352593673604_t1170.jpg?5cc718665ab672dba93d511ab4c682bb370e5f86)
Same-sex couples take part in a public blessing ceremony in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, on Sept. 20, 2023. 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/Martin Meissner, File)
December 18, 2023
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December 18, 2023 11:45 a.m.
Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples that must not resemble marriage
The document marks the latest gesture of outreach from a pope who has made welcoming LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy