So Pope Francis has deigned to ‘bless’ gay marriages? That’s not a blessing, it’s an insult | Matt Cain

The Catholic church made my young queer life hell. Now they accept and damn my union in one breath

On the day I celebrated the first anniversary of my wedding, Pope Francis announced his conditional approval" for Catholic priests to bless same-sex marriages - under certain circumstances - although he was keen to add that these blessings should not be seen as validation of same-sex relationships. It will be possible to bless same-sex couples but without any type of ritualisation or offering the impression of a marriage," the Church announced in a report published on Vatican News, adding that the blessing does not signify approval of the union". In the eyes of the Catholic church, it seems, queer love is still a sin.

Well, you can stick your blessing, Pope Francis. It's a fig leaf, a PR exercise, a means of laundering your prejudice to make it seem like a step towards acceptance.

Matt Cain is a writer who was formerly editor-in-chief of Attitude and culture editor of Channel 4 News. His latest novel, One Love, is published on 18 January

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.