Pope Francis Gives Opinion Of Blessing Same-Sex Unions

Pope Francis has suggested that the Catholic Church may be able to bless same-sex unions.

While maintaining that the Church would not recognize homosexual marriage, the Pope hinted that blessings for unions between same-sex Catholic couples could be different from those offered during marriage.

The Pope expressed his views in response to theological challenges posed by five conservative cardinals who asked him to affirm teaching on homosexuality.

Their inquiries occurred ahead of a significant Vatican meeting on LGBT+ Catholics, as well as a time when numerous progressive priests in a number of countries have begun blessing same-sex couples in defiance of conservative archbishops.

Homosexuality is considered “intrinsically disordered” by the Catholic Church, and the Pope has long opposed gay marriage, arguing that marriage may only occur between a man and a woman. His statements, however, may possibly signify a shift in trajectory and a departure from the Church’s longstanding disapproval of homosexuality.

He stated in a letter released on October 2nd, “We cannot be judges who only deny, push back, and exclude.”

Pope Francis was issued a list of official questions known as “dubia” or doubts in advance of the Vatican synod, which will convene on Wednesday, October 4, to decide the Church’s future path and the inclusion of LGBT+ Catholics.

The Vatican later disclosed a letter Francis wrote to the cardinals on July 11, in which he urged that such blessings be considered if they did not confuse the blessing with marriage.

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In his seven-point statement, Francis stated unequivocally that marriages could only be between men and women and that the Church should avoid any other ritual that violated his teaching.

He said “Pastoral charity should permeate all our decisions and attitudes”, adding that “we cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude.

“For this reason, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of benediction, requested by one or more persons, that do not transmit a mistaken conception of marriage,” he wrote.

“Because when a benediction is requested, it is expressing a request for help from God, a plea to be able to live better, a trust in a father who can help us to live better.” He noted that there are situations that are objectively “not morally acceptable.”

The Catholic Church holds that while same-sex attraction is not sinful, homosexual behaviours are.

The Pope’s reaction represents a departure from the Vatican’s existing official stance. In 2021, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated unequivocally that the Church could not sanction gay marriages because “God cannot bless sin.”

The letter, according to New Ways Ministry, “significantly advances” efforts to make the LGBT+ community welcome in the Church and is “one big straw towards breaking the camel’s back.”

Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director of the ministry, in a statement, said the Pope’s words implied “that the church does indeed recognise that holy love can exist between same-gender couples, and the love of these couples mirrors the love of God.”