Diocese: Priest’s Omission of Palm Blessing in Protest over Vatican Ruling ‘Reprehensible’50-year-old Fr. Mignani, pastor of Santa Caterina Parish in Bonassola, said during his homily March 28, “if I can’t bless same-sex couples, then I won’t bless palms and olive branches either."ROME — A Catholic diocese in Italy has described a priest’s refusal to bless palms on Sunday because of the Vatican’s rejection of blessings for same-sex unions as “reprehensible.”The Diocese of Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato said that the matter was being addressed according to Church norms.Fr. Giulio Mignani, a priest in the north-western Italian diocese, made headlines after he refused to...