Pope Leo signalled on Thursday that he does not plan to go beyond efforts made by his predecessor Francis to offer Church blessings for same-sex couples, saying taking new steps could cause disunity in Catholicism. 

The first U.S. pope praised Francis' landmark 2023 decision but said in comments aboard his flight back to Rome after a four-nation African tour that the Vatican does not want those blessings to be formalized further.

"To go beyond that today, I think that the topic can cause more disunity than unity," Leo said in a press conference.

Francis, who died in 2025 after 12 years leading the Church, allowed pastors to give blessings to same-sex couples informally outside of a ritual service, and on a case-by-case basis. 

The decision provoked widespread debate in the Church, with bishops in some countries, particularly in Africa, refusing to let their priests implement it. 

Asked about German Cardinal Reinhard Marx's plan to formalize the blessings in his diocese, Leo did not specifically criticize it but referred to previous Vatican instructions to the German bishops' conference not to develop formalized rituals for same-sex blessings.

"The Holy See has made it clear that we do not agree with the formalized blessing of couples," said the pope.

Leo also said that unity in the 1.4-billion-member Church should not revolve only around sexual ethics.

"We tend to think that when the Church is talking about morality, that the only issue of morality is sexual," he said. "In reality, I believe there are much greater and more important issues such as justice, equality, (and) freedom of men and women."

The Catholic Church teaches that sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are sinful. It says people with same-sex attractions should try to be chaste.