Pope Francis said he sees “hypocrisy” in criticism of his decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples, possibly his most strongly worded defence of the move.
LGBT blessings were authorised last month by a Vatican document called Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust), but that has met with significant resistance in the Catholic Church, particularly from African bishops.
“Nobody gets scandalised if I give my blessings to a businessman who perhaps exploits people, and this is a very grave sin. But they get scandalised if I give them to a homosexual,” Francis told Italian Catholic magazine Credere.
“This is hypocrisy,” he said.
Credere released extracts of the interview on Wednesday, a day ahead of publication.
Francis also said he “always” welcomes LGBT people and remarried divorcees to the sacrament of confession, according to another passage published by Vatican media.
“No one should be denied a blessing. Everyone, everyone, everyone” the pontiff said, repeating a three-word slogan he used in August during a Catholic youth festival in Portugal.
Francis, who famously said “Who am I to judge?” when asked about homosexuality at the beginning of his papacy, has made it one of his missions to make the Catholic Church more welcoming and less judgmental.
Conservatives say this risks undermining the Church’s moral teachings.
Francis has defended Fiducia Supplicans on several occasions, but acknowledged the pushback against it, saying for example that priests should take into account local sensitivities when giving the blessings.
