The Catholic Church issued a statement this Monday agreed with Pope Francis on same-sex couples or couples in an irregular situation and the possibility of blessing these unions.

In the statement Fiducia supplicans on the pastoral meaning of the blessings, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, explained that the document was issued after several questions were asked and that it has the approval of the Holy Father. . In addition, it was debated at the Congress of the Doctrinal Department of the Dicastery.

Since his election in 2013, the Argentine Jesuit, who insists on the importance of a Church “open to all”, has repeatedly angered conservatives, most notably by restricting the use of the traditional Latin Mass in 2021.

“If someone is homosexual and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge him?” he said in 2013, just a few months after his election.

Catholic Church allows blessings of same-sex couples ‘without officially validating their status’

However, in 2021, the Vatican reiterated its position that homosexuality is a “sin” and confirmed that same-sex couples cannot receive the sacrament of marriage.

The statement notes that clergy can bless same-sex couples and those in irregular situations, as long as this is done outside of liturgical rituals.

There is “the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and couples of the same sex, the form of which should not be subject to any ritual fixation by the ecclesiastical authorities, so as not to cause confusion with the blessing of the sacrament of marriage,” it said. document. states. .

“This blessing shall never be performed concurrently with, or in connection with, civil union rites. Not even with the clothes, gestures or words typical of a wedding,” he adds.

According to the Holy See, blessings enshrine the presence of God in all events of life and invite people to seek God, love Him and serve Him faithfully.

It was also stated that the Church considers only sexual relations that take place within marriage to be morally licit and that a liturgical blessing cannot be granted if it can somehow provide some form of moral legitimacy to a union that presupposes marriage or extramarital sexual practice.

Blessed perhaps, but still sinful: the pope’s statement on the church’s position on same-sex couples

On this point, Pope Francis urged us “not to lose the pastoral charity that must permeate all our decisions and attitudes, and to avoid being judges who merely deny, reject and exclude.”

The Church explains that the blessing has two aspects, one of which is descent and is represented by its invocation by God descending on man, based on the Old Testament. While there is also a second kind of blessing, namely the ascending one, which is equivalent to ‘praising, celebrating and thanking God for his mercy and faithfulness, for the wonders he has created and for everything that has happened by his will’.

For same-sex couples in an irregular situation, a blessing can be granted which not only has an ascending value, but is also the invocation of a descending blessing from God himself.

“These forms of blessing express a plea to God to grant the help that comes from the impulses of his Spirit – which classical theology calls ‘real graces’ – so that human relationships can mature and grow in fidelity to the message of the Gospel . Free yourself from your imperfections and weaknesses and express yourself in the ever-increasing dimension of divine love,” he says.

This made it clear that it is not intended to legitimize the unions, nor should they be interpreted as a marriage. Therefore, various times have been established when this can be done.

The blessing may include a short prayer asking for peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue and mutual help, as well as the light and power of God to fully fulfill His will.

This blessing should be performed at times such as a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a group prayer or a pilgrimage. (JO)