Pope Francis' Approval Of Marital Blessings For Same-Sex Couples Met With Positive Feedback
By Favour Adegoke on December 18, 2023 at 12:45 PM EST
Pope Francishas formally approved that Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples. The Pope's office released a document on the topic and redefined the term "Blessing" in the scripture. This decision goes against the decades-long stance of the Catholic Church against queer couples.
In 2021, a Vatican document outrightly refused to bless same-sex unions, calling it a "sin." Now, the church has said such sin shouldn't deprive anyone of God's love and mercy. The change has received high praise from several priests, including Reverend James Martin.
Pope Francis Has Approved Same-Sex Marital Blessings
On Monday, Pope Francis announced to the Catholic community that he has formally approved marital blessings for same-sex couples. Now, Catholic priests can bless such couples without them going under "an exhaustive moral analysis." This is another in a list of radical changes Francis has made to the church since he rose to the papacy.
Pope Francis released the document through the Vatican's doctrine office, and it further explains a letter he'd previously sent to two conservative Cardinals. In that letter, Francis had suggested that priests could make these blessings if they stopped associating it with the sacrament of marriage.
According to AP News, the new document repeats this statement and explains further that marriage is a permanent sacrament between a man and a woman. It also states that blessings for same-sex couples should not be liturgical and come separately from the civil union ceremony and its standard rituals.
Pope Francis Redefines The Concept Of A Blessing
In the new document, Francis emphasizes that priests should stop denying same-sex couples' requests for blessings. He also extensively redefined the concept of a "blessing" from the scripture. Francis insisted that sexuality shouldn't hinder anyone from seeking God's love, mercy, and a transcendent relationship. He wrote that such people shouldn't have to undergo "an exhaustive moral analysis" as a condition for receiving these blessings.
It read, "Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God. 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."
Pope Francis also wrote that a request for such a blessing is a "seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered."
The decision is a clear contrast from the historic position of the Vatican against same-sex marriage. The Catholic body has severally stated that marriage can only be defined as an indissoluble union between man and woman.
The Church Has Previously Refused Such Blessings
In 2021, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith made the church's stance on same-sex marriages very clear. It expressly states that priests couldn't bless marriages involving two men or two women because "God cannot bless sin." This stance received immediate backlash from more accepting members of the Catholic community and millions of queer people worldwide.
Soon after the document went public and received immense backlash on social media, Pope Francis reacted by removing the official responsible. He also began working on a reversal of the status quo, which has now led to the approval of same-sex union blessings.
In his new document, Pope Francis emphasized that the church must avoid all "doctrinal or disciplinary schemes, especially when they lead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others, and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts his or her energies in inspecting and verifying."
He wrote that all people in "irregular" unions are in a constant state of sin, but it shouldn't restrict them from God's unending love and mercy.
Pope Francis' New Document Was Well-received
The change to the papacy's stance on same-sex couples and their unions has already received high praise from multiple priests and Catholics. A good example is The Rev. James Martin, a known advocate for LGBTQ+ Catholics.
Rev. Martin praised the document and Francis' decision as a "dramatic shift" and "huge step forward" from the Vatican's 2021 policy.
In an email praising the document and its new policies, Rev. Martin shared his joy at the decision. He wrote that it "recognizes the deep desire in many Catholic same-sex couples for God's presence and help in their committed relationships." Rev. Martin added, "Along with many Catholic priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends in same-sex marriages."
