Pope Francis calls out the hypocrisy of critics of LGBTQ+ blessings

Pope Francis responded forcefully once again to criticism of his recent decision to bless couples in same-sex unions, calling objections from “ideological groups” in the United States and elsewhere “hypocrisy.”

“No one is scandalized if I give a blessing to an entrepreneur who perhaps exploits people: and that is a most serious sin,” the Pope reasoned in an interview in the Italian magazine Credere.

Related: Catholic priest arrested after organizing a sex party where a man overdosed

The priest faces years in prison if convicted.

“Whereas they are scandalized if I give it to a homosexual… This is hypocrisy! We all have to respect each other. Everyone!”

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In December, the Pontiff issued a landmark document authorizing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples, part of a broader effort by the Pope to soften the Church’s stance on homosexuality.

“Welcome” is at the heart of the new document, the 87-year-old Pontiff said in the interview published Thursday.

The comments were just the latest defense of the Pope’s controversial decision.

In December, Francis asserted in another interview that the “Lord blesses everyone” and “in most cases, when you don’t accept a decision, it’s because you don’t understand.”

The move was met with fierce resistance in some corners of the Church, particularly in Africa, where bishops declared they “do not consider it appropriate.” Same-sex union blessings “would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities” and “would cause confusion,” the bishops explained in a statement in December.

The Pope described that criticism as a “special case” endemic to African culture, noting the African bishops remained loyal to the Pope and the Catholic Church.

The Pope has said criticisms voiced among conservatives in the Church “belong to small ideological groups” who are fierce in their opposition to homosexuality.

The Pope did acknowledge he made a distinction between blessing the “union” and the same-sex couple.

“I don’t bless a ‘same-sex marriage.’ I bless two people who love each other and I also ask them to pray for me,” Francis said in the interview.

“Always in confession, when these situations come, homosexual people, remarried people, I always pray and bless. Blessing should not be denied to anyone.”

Only a few weeks after he approved blessing same-sex couples, Francis called for a universal ban on surrogacy, likening it to human trafficking and calling it a “despicable” practice. A ban on surrogacy would disproportionately affect gay couples.

Francis, who has displayed diminished mobility in recent years, also addressed questions about his health. He said the Church is “governed with the head, not with the legs” and restated his hope Church leaders would draw closer to their flock.

“We clerics sometimes live in comfort,” the Pope said, and need to better understand “the work, the suffering of people.”

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