"Regarding the widely debated act of conferring blessings to homosexual couples. It is a personal gesture that the Pope has assumed. It is true that it involves an extra-liturgical blessing, so it is not related to the liturgy; the marriage of these individuals is not officiated. A blessing. I interpreted it as a sign of tolerance for these individuals, through which I believe the Pope aims to bring them closer to the church, but not for them to remain in the same situation", stated Vasile Bănescu on the evening of January 18th, on a television program.

He mentioned that homosexuality "is a sin" because in the moral law recorded in Scripture, relationships between individuals of the same sex are considered a sin.

"It is unnatural. Homosexuality will never be accepted in Orthodox Christianity, at least. I think the matter of accepting homosexuality is not posed by Catholicism itself, but rather by the societies where this form of Christianity is present. (...) Christian morality cannot include sin", claimed Vasile Bănescu.

He expressed confidence that Romanian society, which polls show trusts the Church, supports this idea.

The representative of the Patriarchy stated that the Church does not forbid homosexuals from going to church: "There is no major issue with these individuals; they can come to church, no one kicks them out of the church, but you should come to church to renew yourself".

Bănescu also spoke about pornography, stating that it is "harmful to the human person because it presents the unnatural, it presents excess that does not coincide with reality" and represents"a drag of the individual into an area from which they may not return".

"Love, sexual pleasure, as Pope Francis said, are things that are part of human nature. Of course, sex is not a sin; of course, physical relationships are not a sin among people who have a certain order in their lives, who love, who are loved, but beyond that, pornography represents an extremely dangerous plague at a global level", claimed Bănescu.