Mixed Blessing on Blessings?

Today and tomorrow on Bondings 2.0, two leading Catholic theologians analyze Pope Leo XIV’s recent comments about church unity and about sexual morality, which he made in response to a question about blessing same-sex couples.

Tomorrow’s analysis, on sexual morality, will be by Daniel Horan, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies and Theology at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Today’s analysis, on church unity, is by Brian Flanagan, PhD (he/him), who holds the John Cardinal Cody Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola University Chicago. He is a Senior Fellow at New Ways Ministry, and the Past President of the College Theology. His most recent book is “Stumbling in Holiness: Sin and Sanctity in the Church.”  

Pope Leo XIV answering questions from journalists at news conference on plane ride back to Rome.

What’s a good job description for a pope?

When Pope Leo made comments last week about disagreeing with the German bishops on the issue of blessings for same-gender couples, we gained some insight into what Pope Leo thinks the job description of a pope is, and the possible implications of that description for LGBTQ+ Catholics globally. 

From my perspective as an ecclesiologist (a scholar who studies the theology and practical structures of the church), Pope Leo’s comments about sexual morality and unity are extremely important. “First of all, I think it’s very important to understand that the unity or division of the church should not revolve around sexual matters,” he said, adding that issues of “justice, equality, freedom of men and women” are  “much greater, more important issues.” 

The pope was responding to a question about the German bishops’ overall support of blessings for same-sex couples, at the same time that many African bishops and other conservative bishops roundly condemned such blessings. It’s important to notice that he begins by referring to this disagreement as a question of “unity or division of the church.” Over the course of his response, he reiterates the position of Pope Francis in Fiducia Supplicans (the document which allowed for such blessings) of providing a wider welcome to all, though these blessings should avoid ritualized and  formalized ceremonies.

The immediate exigence of this question is the fact that only a few days previous, Cardinal Reinhard Marx leader of the historically important Archdiocese of Munich-Freising, recommended the implementation of guidelines proposed by the German bishops’ conference which recommend a ritual for blessing such couples.   

Leo concluded his comment on this particular issue by returning to the question of ecclesial unity: “To go beyond that today, I think that the topic can cause more disunity than unity, and that we should look for ways to build our unity upon Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ teaches.”

The question of unity becomes even more significant when we consider that the continuing status of LGBTQ+ persons was not only a source of division at the Synod on Synodality, but that the synod was unable to come to any substantive consensus on LGBTQ+ realities,, either in the Synod hall or in the Final Document. 

Leo’s answer indicates that he sees maintaining the unity of the Catholic Church, in the face of differences in position and even practice, as a primary part of his job description. The late theologian Jean-Marie-Roger Tillard, O.P., argued that one of the unique duties of the Pope is to be a “sentry for unity,” always on the lookout to preserve the unity of the church in the face of its differences. Since Leo shares that understanding of the papacy, he will neither be going beyond Fiducia Supplicans’ limited form of pastoral welcome for LGBTQ+ couples in ways that would alienate those parts of the Catholic world deeply suspicious of affirming same-gender couples, while also keeping true to his words that he will not be moving backward or rescinding Fiducia Supplicans. Though  there have been and will be moments when popes must speak challenging truths and make prophetic decisions, even in the face of possible disunity, it appears that Pope Leo does not judge this to be one of those moments. 

And so the pope’s statement on blessings is, well,  a mixed blessing. On one hand, we might be grateful for the clear statement of his intention to continue Pope Francis’s teaching  that “todos, todos, todos” are to be welcomed in the church. On the other hand, that welcome will continue to have limits as the pope weighs how to maintain the unity of a global church deeply divided over these issues. 

But I do see one further place for some ecclesiological hope in Leo’s remarks, when he also noted that “The Holy See has already spoken to the German bishops,” and “ “has made it clear that we do not agree with the formalized blessing of couples.” The choice of words here may or may not be significant. The Holy See has “spoken.” It has “made it clear.” But he did not say that the Holy See will intervene, nor that it will prevent the German implementation of Fiducia Supplicans in the manner they have chosen. I don’t want to raise false hopes, but for now it is significant that the Vatican is speaking with the German bishops, not stopping them.

From these remarks, I suspect that Pope Leo will continue the pattern of ecclesial subsidiarity, of “healthy decentralization,” that began with Pope Francis. Rather than attempting to enforce uniformity of practice across the global church, I expect Leo will continue to allow local churches and their bishops to do what they think best, on LGBTQ+ and other issues, with the passive acquiescence of the Vatican but not its full approval. In such a scenario, the efforts of the German Catholic community to create structures for the welcome and blessing of LGBTQ+ couples, as well as those of other bishops here in the United States and elsewhere, may not be enthusiastically embraced by the Vatican or other local churches, but also may not be stopped in the way they would have been in a more uniformity-focused, hegemonic understanding of the papacy such as that of John Paul II. 

The flip side of this, however, is that Pope Leo will extend the same freedom of local leadership to bishops and local churches that are currently opposing any efforts to welcome LGBTQ+ Catholics. As mentioned,  many bishops of Africa have refused to receive or implement Fiducia Supplicans in their dioceses, and the same is true  of many conservative bishops throughout the world, including in the United States. And prior to the question of  same-sex blessings, we must still consider the treatment of LGBTQ+ persons in oppressive societies where LGBTQ+ people have been criminalized. Indeed, this should definitely be one of the issues of “justice, equality, freedom of men and women” with which Pope Leo began his airplane remarks. 

And so as we might celebrate the admittedly small advances in welcome such as the German church’s blessings guidelines, we’re also called to redouble our efforts of education, advocacy, and solidarity in supporting each other as LGBTQ+ Catholics and especially supporting LGBTQ+ Catholics facing immediate injustice and violence. 

Pope Leo’s remarks suggest that he sees his role as primarily keeping all of the members of the church walking together despite our disagreements. Our role and our baptismal responsibility in a more decentralized and synodal church is to make the most of the opportunity ecclesial unity offers: to share our stories as LGBTQ+ Catholics with our fellow church members who disagree with us, as we try to teach them, step by step, of what we have learned about who God is and therefore how the church can grow into God’s beloved community of greater respect, welcome, and love for all.

—Brian Flanagan, Loyola University Chicago, April 30, 2026