On Monday, March 15 Pope Francis declared that the Catholic church would not bless same-sex unions.

The Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, which is responsible for defending and explaining the Catholic Church’s teaching, issued a formal response to the question of whether clergy could bless same-sex marriages. The Vatican answered in the traditional format, with either a negative or positive response to a question, stating “negative.”

In the explanatory note, which is a document that further explains the church’s stance on an issue, the Vatican said that God, “does not and cannot bless sin.”

Pope Francis has made several comments regarding homosexuality in the past. In a film released in 2020 by Evgeny Afineevsky, he stated that gay people are children of God, and should be treated with respect. He has also advocated for the legalizing of civil unions to give gay people the same legal protections as others, just not marriage within the church. However, he has also reiterated that Church doctrine refers to homosexual acts as “deviant behavior” and that the church does not advocate or approve of those lifestyle choices.

The Vatican’s statement has upset many LGBTQ+ people, including famous musician Elton John. John released an angry post on Instagram noting the “Hypocrisy” of the statement. In 2019, The Vatican spent $4.5 million dollars investing in the film “Rocketman,” which references John coming to terms with his sexuality and his love-story between him and his husband David Furnish.

“How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they ‘are sin’, yet happily make a profit from investing millions in ‘Rocketman’ – a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David??” said John on Instagram.

The statement released by the Catholic Church has also elicited responses from specifically Catholic LGBT people, who are feeling betrayed and angry. 

“Being LGBTQ is not a choice. LGBTQ people are wonderfully made by God. We are born this way and perfectly so, regardless of what the Vatican or any other religious authority might claim,” said Charlotte Clymer from Catholics for Choice on Twitter.

This statement disallowing same-sex marriage within the Catholic Church, while upsetting many, is congruent with official Church doctrine, and it may be a long time before the Catholic Church changes its long-held views on homosexuality.