After approving blessings for same-sex couples, Pope asks Vatican staff to avoid ‘rigid ideologies’

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has urged Vatican bureaucrats to avoid “rigid ideological positions” that prevent them from understanding today’s reality. Francis gave his annual Christmas greeting on Thursday just days after he formally allowed priests to bless same-sex couples in a radical change of Vatican policy. He encouraged the cardinals, bishops and laypeople who run the Vatican to listen to one another and to others so they can evolve to truly offer service to the Catholic Church. Speaking in the Hall of Blessings, Francis told them it was important to keep moving forward and growing in understanding the truth, “overcoming the temptation to stand still and never leave the labyrinth of our fears.”