It looks to me as though the Pope got it right this time. He said in no uncertain terms that marriage is and will remain a sacrament between a man and a woman.
He also said that priests were allowed to bless a same sex couple if there was no confusion that it was in no way a marriage.
Sounds like Catholic Church SOP.
I went through the Catholic school system in the mid 50’s-early 70’s. I participated in athletics from grade school through college and seeing a priest running around a locker room was not uncommon.
I really didn't pay much attention to it but I know that before every game a priest was on hand to say a prayer for the all male team and to give them a blessing.
A blessing is just a blessing. It isn't even close to the marriage sacrament, and that difference is probably going to give Francis a real headache with the BLTGMNOP types.
IF Catholic Theology on the inerrancy of the papacy is correct, then you have a major problem.
This is under the “faith and morals” side of the thing.
So either the Pope is not Catholic (which opens up a large can of worms), Vatican I was wrong (a larger can), or the Catholic Church is not Catholic, the biggest can of all.
What many of us Lutherans have been pointing out here for a while is the issue. By saying the Pope is not capable of making a mistake in faith and morals you paint yourself in a very dangerous corner, and one that DID NOT EXIST UNTIL THE 1870s