Pope Francis has suggested he would be open to having the Catholic Church bless same-sex couples.
Responding to a group of cardinals who asked him for clarity on the issue, he said any request for a blessing should be treated with “pastoral charity”.
“We cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude,” he said.
He added, however, that the Church still considered same-sex relationships “objectively sinful” and would not recognise same-sex marriage.
The request was one of a number sent to the Pope ahead of a weeks-long global gathering to discuss the future of the Church, set to get under way at the Vatican on Wednesday.