On his return trip to Rome from Africa, Pope Leo XIV took a question about blessing gay couples.

A German journalist on the papal plane asked him about the statement from Cardinal Reinhard Marx, in which the archbishop of Munich and Freising in Germany had said priests should bless couples in same-sex unions or in marriages not recognized as valid by the Catholic Church.

In his response, Leo said the Holy See “has made it clear that we do not agree with the formalized blessing of couples, in this case, homosexual couples, as you asked, or couples in irregular situations, beyond what was specifically, if you will, allowed for by Pope Francis in saying all people receive blessings.”