The Vatican on Monday approved blessings for same-sex couples, a hugely contested issue in the Catholic Church, as long as they are not in contexts related to civil unions or weddings.
In a document approved by Pope Francis, the Vatican backed “the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations (including unmarried couples or divorcees) and for couples of the same sex.”
“One should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing,” it says.
Photo: AP
However, the document, published by the Vatican’s faith department, does not change the Catholic Church’s stance on same-sex marriages or unions. It reiterates the long-held position that marriage is between only a man and a woman, for the purpose of having children — and says no blessings should be given that confuse the issue.
“This blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them,” the document says.
It is the first time the Vatican has opened the way so clearly to the blessing of same-sex couples, which has been a source of tension within the church.
A blessing, generally carried out by a priest, consists of invoking God’s benevolence on a person.
Conservative Catholics, particularly in the US, are strongly opposed to blessing same-sex couples, but in some places, such as Belgium and Germany, priests have already been doing it, including in church.
James Martin, a US Jesuit priest and well-known advocate for LGBTQ believers, said the document was a “major step forward in the church’s ministry to LGBTQ people.”
He said it was also a “marked shift” from a 2021 decision in which the Vatican said the Catholic Church did not have the power to bless same-sex unions because God could not “bless sin.”
The Vatican’s announcement, known as a declaration, was published six weeks after the end of a global meeting on the church’s future, which debated social issues such as opening doors to LGBTQ people or divorced and remarried people.
In early October, five conservative cardinals publicly asked Pope Francis to reaffirm Catholic doctrine on same-sex couples, but the hot-button issue was not addressed in the meeting’s final text.
The head of the Vatican’s faith department wrote in an introduction to the document that it was “a broadening and enrichment” of the Vatican’s stance on blessings.
The text, entitled “Fiducia Supplicans — On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings,” was “based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis,” Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez wrote.
The Argentine pontiff, 87, has sought to make the Catholic Church more welcoming to those it has long considered “sinners,” even if they cannot fully participate in it.
Just weeks after taking office in March 2013, Francis notably said that “if someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?”
Monday’s document says: “To avoid any form of confusion or scandal,” blessings for same-sex couples cannot be “performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.”
“Such a blessing may instead find its place in other contexts, such as a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a prayer recited in a group, or during a pilgrimage,” it says.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS