Cardinal Pietro Parolin has said it is premature to speak of sanctions against German bishops over formalised blessings for same-sex couples, while making clear that the Holy See has not ruled out further intervention if the dispute cannot be resolved.

Speaking to reporters in Rome on May 6, the Vatican secretary of state said he hoped the situation could still be settled without disciplinary measures. Problems in the Church, he said, ought to be resolved peacefully, and he expressed the hope that matters would not reach the point of sanctions.

His remarks come amid continuing tensions between Rome and parts of the German episcopate over the blessing of same-sex and other irregular couples. Several German bishops have moved to formalise such blessings in their dioceses, citing Fiducia supplicans, the 2023 Vatican declaration that allowed certain non-liturgical pastoral blessings while insisting that they must not resemble rites of marriage or imply moral approval of irregular unions.

That dispute sharpened further this week after the publication of a 2024 letter from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith warning German bishops against giving such blessings any structured or liturgical form. The letter stated that any move in that direction risked legitimising unions contrary to Catholic teaching.

Pope Leo XIV has also addressed the issue directly. In recent remarks, he indicated that the Holy See does not agree with the formalisation of blessings for couples beyond what Pope Francis had specifically allowed. That has been widely read as a signal that his pontificate will not endorse broader German attempts to institutionalise the practice.

Parolin’s comments suggest that the Vatican is still trying to contain the matter through dialogue rather than immediate penalties. At the same time, his refusal to exclude intervention leaves open the possibility that Rome could yet act if German initiatives continue to move beyond the limits it has set.

The cardinal also commented on the forthcoming meeting between Pope Leo and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, due to take place on May 7. He described the recent verbal attacks on the Pope from Donald Trump’s camp as strange and said the Vatican would listen carefully to Rubio, noting that the initiative for the meeting had come from the American side.

Parolin added that the Holy See’s position on nuclear arms remains unchanged. Echoing the Pope’s own recent remarks, he said the Vatican has always worked, and continues to work, for nuclear disarmament.

Taken together, the cardinal’s interventions point to a Vatican seeking steadiness on two fronts at once: trying to prevent the German blessings dispute from hardening into open rupture, while also navigating an increasingly tense relationship with Washington over war, diplomacy and the moral language of peace.