A German cardinal in the Catholic Church remarked that Pope Benedict would never have approved Pope Francis' recent edict allowing priests to bless people in same-sex relationships.
The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office says requests for such blessings should not be denied.
"Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God," the document said. "The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live."
"It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered," the pope added.
In the new document, the Vatican said the church must shy away from "doctrinal or disciplinary schemes, especially when they lead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others, and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts his or her energies in inspecting and verifying."
The document stressed that people in "irregular" unions – gay or straight – are in a state of sin.
However, it said that should not deprive them of God’s love or mercy.
Fox News' Pilar Arias and Reuters contributed to this report