Pope Francis allowing blessings for gay couples is significant but not seismic

Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican on Sunday 17 December. The revised guidance is a strong message of inclusion for LGBT+ people. Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

Pope Francis was already shaking up the accepted norms of the Vatican and the global Roman Catholic church when, in 2013, he delivered five words that gave hope of acceptance to LGBT+ Christians around the world.

While aboard the papal plane returning to Rome from Brazil he said in response to a reporter’s question about homosexuality: “Who am I to judge?”