In some countries, such as the United States and Germany, parishes and ministers had begun blessing same-sex unions in lieu of marriage, and there have been calls for bishops to de facto institutionalise these.Ĭonservatives in the 1.3 billion-member Church have said the pope - who has sent notes of appreciation to priests and nuns who minister to gay Catholics - is giving mixed signals on homosexuality, confusing some of the faithful. Last year, the Vatican's doctrinal office issued a document saying that Catholic priests cannot bless same-sex unions, a ruling that greatly disappointed gay Catholics.
