The head of Ukraine's eastern-rite Catholic church on December 23 said a document endorsed by Pope Francis this week permitting blessings for same-sex couples did not apply to his church and its teachings. Major Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk said the Vatican document "interprets the pastoral meaning of blessings in the Latin Church" but made no reference to issues governing the Eastern, or Greek Catholic, church. "Thus ... this Declaration applies solely to the Latin Church and has no legal force for the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church," Shevchuk said.