(LifeSiteNews) — The head of Rome’s most famous church, St. Peter’s Basilica, has stated that blessings of homosexual “couples” could happen there. Explaining why, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti said, “To show the world the maternal face of the Church and along the lines of what [Pope Francis] has asked for.”

While the decision has justifiably caused scandal, this is sadly not the first time St. Peter’s Basilica has been the focus of controversy for following the will of Pope Francis.

Remember that after Francis witnessed the Pachamama idolatry in the Vatican gardens and blessed the idols, he had the Pachamama idols processed into St. Peter’s Basilica and honored there. 

When Pope Francis was so extreme on COVID, St. Peter’s turned away pilgrims seeking to attend a Mass scheduled for their private group for wearing the wrong type of face masks, insisting they had to be specific FFP2 masks (similar to the N95 masks). The Vatican also continued to insist on the COVID vax pass even after the Italian government dropped the requirement. 

Weeks before the publication of Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes, severely restricting the Latin Mass, St. Peter’s Basilica already insisted Mass must be in Italian or other modern languages, not Latin. 

Months after Pope Francis shocked the Catholics world by advising a Lutheran woman whose husband was Catholic to go ahead and receive Holy Communion, a group of Finnish Lutherans were given Holy Communion in St. Peter’s Basilica following a meeting with Pope Francis on January 15, 2016. 

And in 2015, Pope Francis’ great enthusiasm for the “climate” led him to approve of a light show cast onto St. Peter’s Basilica itself to promote fighting “climate change.”