Pope Francis Suggests Blessing Same-Sex Couples By Catholic Church

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in World news October 3, 2023

Pope Francis has said he would be open to having the Catholic Church bless same-sex couples. He said this while responding to a group of cardinals who asked him for clarity on the issue. He revealed that any request for a blessing should be treated with “pastoral charity”.

“We cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude,” he said.

On the contrary, though, he said the church still views same-sex relationships as ‘objectively sinful’. Therefore, the church would not recognize same-sex marriages.

The request came as one of many sent to the Pope ahead of the week-long global gathering to discuss the church’s future. This event is set to get underway on Wednesday at the Vatican.

A blessing in the Catholic Church can be a prayer or a plea, usually delivered by a minister. It usually asks God to favorably look on the people being blessed.

Bishops across various countries have started accepting blessing of same-sex couples by priests. However, the position of Church authorities remained unclear.

Back in 2021, the Vatican’s doctrinal office ruled against allowing same-sex relationships following a similar request for clarification.

The Pope said that the Church understood marriage to be an “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman”. He said this as he responded to the latest request adding that the church should avoid any type of rite or sacramental that might contradict this conviction.

He added however that when a blessing is requested, it is expressing a plea to God for help, a supplication to live better.

“Pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage,” he said.

In February, a vote of senior figures in the Church of England backed proposals to allow prayers of blessing for same-sex couples.

This meant that a same-sex couple could go to an Anglican church for services after a legal marriage ceremony. Some of these services include prayers of dedication, thanksgiving, and God’s blessing.

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