Vatican City, Dec 19 (EFE).- The Vatican’s groundbreaking decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples without validating their marriage has sparked mixed responses from rights advocates, with some calling it a positive step forward but others considering it insufficient.
A Vatican document approved by Pope Francis said it should be possible for Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples without any type of ritualization or offering the impression of a marriage.
However, the church has not changed its doctrine regarding marriage, making it clear that a blessing does not signify approval of the union.
“To avoid any form of confusion or scandal, when the prayer of blessing is requested by a couple in an irregular situation (…) this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them,” the document from the Vatican’s doctrine office noted.
It clarified that such blessings could not be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.
“There is no intention to legitimize anything, but rather to open one’s life to God, to ask for his help to live better, and also to invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the Gospel may be lived with greater faithfulness.”
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernandez, who heads the church’s office on doctrine, explained that the declaration in no way sought to change the “traditional doctrine of the church about marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion.
The document reverses a 2021 Vatican ruling that barred Catholic churches from blessing gay couples because god “cannot bless sin.”
But Pope Francis has said the blessing is an act of “inclusion, solidarity, and peacemaking.”
“It is a positive message of comfort, care, and encouragement. The blessing expresses god’s merciful embrace and the church’s motherhood, which invites the faithful to have the same feelings as god toward their brothers and sisters.”
The document highlights the pope’s December 2020 prayer to underpin the new practice.
“This world needs blessings, and we can give blessings and receive blessings. The Father loves us, and the only thing that remains for us is the joy of blessing him, the joy of thanking him, and the joy of learning from him…to bless.”
In Chile, the rights advocacy group Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement said the pope’s decision was “too late, too little,” which damages the dignity of believers.
“This is a new and intolerable form of exclusion, intended to be passed off as anti-discriminatory, when in reality it is an apartheid measure,” Movilh’s human rights officer, Ramón Gómez, said in a press statement.
On the other hand, the Ecuadorian federation of LGBT+ organizations celebrated the Vatican’s declaration, noting that not accepting marriage equality was discriminatory.
In a press statement, the federation said the decision “is a positive but insufficient step.”
“Marriage is a fundamental right (…) It must be recognized for all people, regardless of their sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.”
Nonetheless, it said, the decision “is an important step toward the full acceptance of LGBT+ people by the Catholic Church.” EFE
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