- Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples
Pope Francis has legally allowed priests blessing same-sex couples, according to a new statement that explains a significant shift in Vatican doctrine by stressing that those seeking God’s love and mercy should not be subjected to “an exhaustive moral analysis” in order to receive it.
The statement, issued Monday by the Vatican’s theology office, expands on a letter Francis delivered to two conservative cardinals, which was published in October. In that early statement, Francis suggested that such blessings could be given in some circumstances if the practice was not confused with the sacrament of marriage.
The new constitution reiterates and expands on that rationale, confirming marriage as a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. It further emphasises that blessings should not be bestowed concurrently with a civil union, using set rites or even the attire and gestures associated with a wedding.
However, it states that such petitions should not be dismissed outright. It uses a broad definition of the term “blessing” in Scripture to argue that those wanting a transcendent relationship with God and seeking his compassion and mercy need not be subjected to “an exhaustive moral analysis” as a prerequisite for obtaining it.
“Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,” according to the statement. “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.”
He went on to say: “It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.”
Marriage, according to the Vatican, is an irreversible union of man and woman. As a result, it has long been against same-sex marriage.
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated unequivocally in 2021 that the church could not recognise unions between two men or two women because “God cannot bless sin.”
That document sparked outrage, which it seems even Francis was caught off guard by, despite the fact that he had formally allowed its publishing. Soon after it was published, he fired the person who was responsible and began laying the framework for a reversal.
In a recently released document, the Vatican stated that the church must not engage in “doctrinal or disciplinary schemes, especially when they lead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism whereby instead of evangelising, one analyses and classifies others, and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts his or her energies in inspecting and verifying.”
It emphasised that persons in “irregular” unions, gay or straight, are in sin. However, it was stated that this should not deprive them of God’s love or mercy.
“Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it,” according to the report.
