Pope Francis has approved a doctrinal document that allows the blessing of same-sex couples and other “irregular” as long as it does not imitate the marriage rite. According to the official Vatican portal ‘Vatican News’, with this declaration, the ‘Fiducia supplicans’, of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved by the Pope, it will be possible to bless couples formed by people of the same sex, but on the sidelines of any ritualization and imitation of marriage.

Thus, the declaration explains that when faced with the request of two people to be blessed, even if their status as a couple is “irregular”, it will be possible for the ordained minister to give his consent, but without this gesture containing elements even remotely similar to a marriage rite.

The document delves into the topic of blessings, distinguishing between ritual and liturgical blessings, and spontaneous blessings that are more similar to gestures of popular devotion. Precisely, in this second category is where the possibility of also welcoming those who do not live according to the norms of Christian moral doctrine but ask to be blessed is now contemplated.

‘Fiducia suplicans’ begins with an introduction by the prefect of the Dicastery, Cardinal Víctor Fernández, who explains that the declaration delves into the “pastoral meaning of the blessings”, allowing “to expand and enrich their classical understanding” through a theological reflection. based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis”.

A reflection that, as he explains, “represents a true development with respect to what has been said until now about blessings”, including the possibility “of blessing couples in an irregular situation and same-sex couples, without officially validating their status or modifying in the perennial teaching of the Church on marriage at all.