Pope Francis criticises conservative mindsets while clarifying his views on LGBTIQ+ blessings

Pope Francis is continuing his tradition of leaving both sides of politics frustrated when it comes to his views on LGBTIQ+ rights, but this time, he's taking right-wing conservatives down a notch or two as well.

His comments came in an interview with 60 Minutes just months after a controversial decision by the Vatican to allow priests to bless same-sex couples as long as it doesn't resemble a wedding.

"What I allowed was not to bless the union," he said. "That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament. I cannot. The Lord made it that way. But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for everyone."

This left many progressives frustrated that the Catholic Church is still positioning LGBTQ+ couples as inferior to heterosexual couples and religious conservatives furious that they weren't being shunned outright.

Pope Francis has frequently caused this kind of disruption, pushing for LGBTIQ+ people to be treated with decency while also still categorising same-sex relationships as a sin. He previously declared there to be no place for gay clergy members within the church. Yet last year, he made it permissible for transgender Catholics and children of same-sex couples to be baptised in the church and spoke out against laws criminalising homosexuality.

During the interview, he reiterated that he that being gay isn't a crime, but rather, "It is a human fact."

Perhaps one of the most interesting moments in the interview came from his scathing words for 'conservatives' who have criticised his stances, saying;

"You used an adjective, 'conservative.' That is, 'conservative' is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that," he said. "It is a suicidal attitude, because one thing is to take tradition into account, to consider situations from the past, but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box."

Earlier this year, Pope Francis also took the time to point out the hypocrisy of those who act "scandalised" by the idea of blessing LGBTQ+ people when they don't have that same energy when the church extends blessings to other people considered sinners under Catholic teachings.

"Nobody gets scandalised if I give my blessings to a businessman who perhaps exploits people, and this is a very grave sin," he said. "But they get scandalised if I give them to a homosexual."