Pope Francis Clarifies Blessing Same-Sex Unions — 'That Cannot Be Done' — But Says 'Everyone' Can Be Blessed (Exclusive)

Brian Brant
·3-min read

In PEOPLE's exclusive look at his historic '60 Minutes' interview, Pope Francis clarifies his stance on blessing same-sex couples and unions

  • Pope Francis has clarified his position on allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples in a historic 60 Minutes interview airing Sunday

  • "What I allowed was not to bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament," he told Norah O'Donnell in PEOPLE's exclusive look at the sit-down

  • "But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for EVERYONE. For everyone," he added

Pope Francis is clarifying his position on allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples — and PEOPLE has an exclusive look at his historic television interview set to air on 60 Minutes this weekend.

In December, the 87-year-old pontiff said that allowing same-sex couples to be blessed is “as an expression of the Church’s maternal heart," comments that were made two months after he made waves for seemingly suggesting he would be open to some Catholic priests blessing same-sex unions.

In PEOPLE's exclusive look at the pope's conversation with Norah O'Donnell, he went into further detail about his stance on the matter.

"What I allowed was not to bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament. I cannot. The Lord made it that way," he said during the interview. "But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for everyone. For everyone."

Related: Pope Francis Condemns Anti-Gay Laws Around the World: 'Being Homosexual Is Not a Crime'

"To bless a homosexual-type union, however, goes against the given right, the law of the Church. But to bless each person, why not?" he added. "The blessing is for all. Some people were scandalized by this. But why? Everyone! Everyone!"

When O'Donnell noted that Pope Francis once said that “Homosexuality is not a crime," the pontiff responded in agreement, saying, "It is a human fact."

“In our rare and wide-ranging conversation, we speak to Pope Francis about his efforts to open up the Catholic Church to everyone - including to those who have long been shunned by the institution," O'Donnell tells PEOPLE in a statement. "It’s one of the reasons many call him the ‘People’s Pope.’ ”

Franco Origlia/Getty Pope Francis
Franco Origlia/Getty Pope Francis

The clarification comes months after the Vatican’s doctrine office released a document in December 2023 that gave Catholic priests permission to bless same-sex couples, which was praised as a "major step forward."

Two months earlier, the pope had given an initial response to questions formally submitted by five cardinals about the matter, in which he first suggested openness to blessing gay couples.

“God never turns away anyone who approaches him!” the document stated. “Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God. … It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.”

However, the document stressed that any "rites and prayers that could create confusion between what constitutes marriage...and what contradicts it are inadmissible."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In the December declaration, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández stated that the new rule didn’t amend “the traditional doctrine of the church about marriage," and that it didn’t allow for liturgical rites that resemble the sacrament of marriage.

According to the document, the declaration is intended to allow those seeking the blessing “to open one’s life to God, to ask for his help to live better” and live with greater faithfulness.

The 60 Minutes interview airs on Sunday, May 19, at 7:00 p.m. EST/PST on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+. CBS News will also air an hourlong special with Pope Francis on Monday, May 20, at 10 p.m. EST on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • 16-year-old Chinese boy beat with iron rod on New Zealand bus

    On Friday morning, during the Maori New Year public holiday, a 16-year-old teen named Jason was brutally attacked on an Auckland bus by a woman wielding an iron rod. The assailant, described as a Maori woman “more than 200 kilograms," hit Jason multiple times and stabbed him in the face, knocking out five of his teeth, on board the bus after having allegedly shouted "ch*nk" at him at Johns Lane stop. Man intervenes: A 75-year-old Chinese man, Penglai Qiuyue, intervened and managed to grab the weapon, though he was also injured in the process.

  • Horrifying moment husband wheels suitcase containing murdered wife from home while carrying child

    A husband who strangled his wife in front of her two children and lover on a video call was captured wheeling the suitcase containing her body out of his home.

  • As AG stays silent, Rosmah presses on with bid to strike out money laundering and tax evasion charges

    KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's money laundering and tax evasion trial proceeded today despite the lac...

  • Hindu priest sexually abused hundreds of followers, High Court hears

    A woman accusing a religious leader of exploiting and sexually abusing her told the High Court he has done it to “hundreds” of his followers over the last 40 years.

  • Predator teacher Rebecca Joynes weeps as she is jailed for having sex with two teenage boys

    Rebecca Joynes cried in the dock as she was sentenced for six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, including two while being a person in a position of trust

  • Canadian Police Seek Suspects in Pants-on-Fire Arson

    One of two suspects in an arson in Richmond, British Columbia, set himself on fire and “despite efforts of both the suspects, [his] pants continued to burn,” according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).The RCMP released footage of the incident, which they said occurred in the early hours of April 24.“At approximately 4:30 am Richmond RCMP attended for an alarm at a business located in the 2600 block of Simpson Road,” police said.“Frontline officers located a broken window and small fire directly in front of it. Evidence was also located which indicated the fire had been intentionally set.“A subsequent review of video surveillance from the area determined that two unidentified men wearing masks had approached the business on foot prior to allegedly smashing the window and then lighting an object on fire. While lighting it, one of the suspect

  • Lebanon's Hezbollah rains 200 rockets on Israel as Gaza war rages

    Lebanon's Hezbollah launched more than 200 rockets and drones at Israeli army positions on Thursday, escalating tensions between the two adversaries amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.After months of deadlocked Gaza ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to send a delegation for talks aimed at securing the release of hostages seized in Hamas's October 7 attack that sparked the war.The announcement, which came a day after Hamas said it had "ideas" on halting the nearly nine-month conflict, followed a phone call between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden."The leaders discussed the recent response received from Hamas" and "the President welcomed the Prime Minister's decision to authorise his negotiators to engage with US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators in an effort to close out the deal," the White House said.Israel launched a military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, in response to an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist militant group on its territory.The next day Hezbollah, in support of its ally Hamas, opened a front on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, and the two sides have since exchanged near-daily cross-border fire.Hezbollah said it fired more than 200 rockets and "explosive drones" at army positions in northern Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed one of the Iran-backed group's commanders.Air raid sirens blared across northern Israel in the morning, and an AFP correspondent witnessed rockets crossing the frontier that were mostly intercepted by Israeli air defences but sparked wildfires.A military source said later a soldier was killed by a rocket fired into northern Israel.- Fighting in Gaza City -The Gaza war broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.In response, Netanyahu vowed to "crush" Hamas and Israel's military launched an offensive that has killed at least 38,011 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.Gaza's civil defence agency said seven people were killed Thursday in Israeli strikes, including five in a school in Gaza City, in the north of the besieged territory.Fighting raged in the city's Shujaiya neighbourhood and in Rafah, on the southern border with Egypt, where an Israeli evacuation order raised fears of a major new offensive.Since the order was issued on Monday, tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled eastern areas of Rafah and nearby Khan Yunis.The United Nations says 1.9 million people are thought to be displaced in Gaza, and that around nine in every 10 people in the territory have been uprooted at least once since the war broke out."Behind these numbers, there are people... that have fears and grievances. And they had probably dreams and hopes; the less and less, I fear today, unfortunately," said Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN humanitarian office in the Palestinian territories."People who in the last nine months have been moved around like pawns in a board game."- Evacuation order -The United Nations says up to 250,000 people were affected by Israel's order to evacuate 117 square kilometres (45 square miles) -- equivalent to one-third of Gaza's territory.The Israel-Hezbollah border clashes have killed at least 496 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including 95 civilians, according to an AFP tally.Israeli authorities say at least 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed on their side of the UN-patrolled border.The Gaza war at the heart of the violence has meanwhile raged on, with gun battles, air strikes and shelling rocking Gaza City for an eight straight day.Israeli troops "destroyed tunnel routes in the area and eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat with tank fire, and in aerial strikes," the military said.- 'Maelstrom of human misery' -Israel has faced an international outcry over the soaring civilian death toll, punishing siege and mass destruction in Gaza.The UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, this week called for an end to the "maelstrom of human misery".Netanyahu has insisted Israel will destroy Hamas and bring home the remaining hostages.Biden, under growing domestic pressure over Washington's support for Israel, in late May outlined a roadmap for a six-week truce and exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.There has been little progress since, but Hamas said Wednesday it was communicating with officials in Qatar and Egypt as well as Turkey with an eye to ending the conflict.Hamas said its Qatar-based political chief Ismail Haniyeh had "made contact with the mediator brothers in Qatar and Egypt about the ideas that the movement is discussing with them with the aim of reaching an agreement".Netanyahu's office said Wednesday that "Israel is evaluating the (Hamas) remarks and will convey its reply to the mediators".The main stumbling block so far has been Hamas's demand for a permanent end to the fighting, which Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners strongly reject.burs-dv/kir

  • Newborn Baby Found Still Attached to Unconscious Mom on Grass Outside Hotel, Both Parents Charged

    A Good Samaritan found the baby and cared for it while waiting for paramedics

  • Indian preacher not hiding after stampede, lawyer says

    The self-styled Indian preacher whose latest sermon ended in a deadly stampede is not hiding from police, his lawyer told AFP on Thursday, without disclosing the guru's whereabouts.Baba's lawyer A.P. Singh told AFP that his client was not to blame for Tuesday's disaster and was not on the run. 

  • Crocodile attack: Remains found of 12-year-old girl attacked while swimming in remote Australian creek

    The remains of a 12-year-old girl attacked by a crocodile while swimming in a remote creek have been found by police in Australia. The unnamed child was reported missing at about 5.30pm local time on Tuesday shortly after she was swimming in Mango Creek, near Palumpa, a remote town of around 350 people seven hours by road from Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. It was reported that a black crocodile was seen in the immediate area, police told ABC Radio.

  • ‘Brave’ police dog dies while chasing attempted murder suspect through park

    ‘PD Zyla died in the line of duty and will always be remembered for her bravery,’ police said in a statement

  • Too late to sue me for RM1.6b, Rosmah tells 1MDB, others

    KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has contended that 1MDB and 10 other entities could no longer sue her fo...

  • ‘Sex predator’ teacher facing jail

    Rebecca Joynes, 30, had a baby with one of the two schoolboys she groomed.

  • 31-Year-Old Man Electrocuted to Death After Trying to Save Dog During Thunderstorm: 'A Sad Day'

    The unidentified victim ran outside to rescue his dog before he was also electrocuted by downed wires, authorities said

  • Swedish diplomat recalls darkest moments in Iran prison

    After almost 800 days in Iran's notorious Evin prison, the now-free Swedish diplomat Johan Floderus recalled the darkest moments throughout his imprisonment and how he survived them.The EU diplomat was then taken by car to the north of Tehran, where he recognised Evin prison.

  • Fatima Payman quits Labor but will remain in upper house as independent

    WA senator tells press conference she was ‘deeply torn’ amid disagreement with the Albanese government on Palestine

  • The Wild True Story of the Bruce Lee Statue Heist

    MOSTAR, Bosnia—It started as a joke. Bosnian writer Veselin Gatalo and two of his friends were sitting in a café at the start of this century talking about heroes. At the time there were plenty of war heroes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where ethnic conflict between Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks in the 1990s left around 100,000 dead. After watching one of these “heroes” insult a waiter, Gatalo, who is Serbian, turned to his friends, Sanjin Plakalo, who is Muslim, and Nino Raspudić, who is Croatian.“D

  • Former Philippine leader Duterte and aide accused of steering government contracts to cronies

    A former Philippine opposition senator accused ex-President Rodrigo Duterte of plundering state coffers in a criminal complaint filed Friday, alleging that he conspired with an aide to award government infrastructure contracts worth millions of dollars to cronies. Filed with the Department of Justice in Manila, the accusation adds to the former president’s legal worries, which include an investigation by the International Criminal Court into allegations of crimes against humanity over the widespread killings of suspects during Duterte's crackdown on illegal drugs. Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said two construction companies, owned by the father and brother of longtime Duterte aide and now Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, received more than 100 government construction contracts worth at least 6.6 billion pesos ($114 million) from 2007 to 2018 in the southern city of Davao, while Duterte was mayor and vice mayor and after he became president in 2016.

  • Jane Fonda Says Her Former Inmates Were 'Mildly Impressed' She Had Starred in “Monster-in-Law” with Jennifer Lopez

    Jane Fonda, who has been arrested and jailed multiple times, recalled how fellow inmates “had far more important things to think about” than her movies

  • Two Americans convicted of killing Italian police officer have sentences reduced

    An Italian appeals court on Wednesday upheld the convictions of two Americans accused of killing an Italian police officer in 2019, but further reduced their terms from the original life sentences both men were handed in 2021.