![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pexels-uriel-mont-6315257-scaled-e1702931909921-642x544.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In a landmark ruling on Monday, December 18, 2023, the Catholic Church approved the blessing of same-sex couples but made it clear that this is not a departure from church doctrine that the Sacrament of Marriage is between a man and a woman.<\/p>\n
The ruling, which was approved by Pope Francis, is a radical change in church policy, pointing out that people who seek God’s love should not be subjected to \u201can exhaustive moral analysis\u201d to receive it and should be a sign that God welcomes all.<\/p>\n
“One should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing,” the document from the Vatican’s doctrine office said.<\/p>\n
The document made it clear that there is no shift in the church’s position on the Sacrament of Marriage nor should the blessings of same-sex couples be confused with it. It reaffirms the age-old church teaching that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman, “naturally open to the generation of children.”<\/p>\n
“This conviction is grounded in the perennial Catholic doctrine of marriage; it is only in this context that sexual relations find their natural, proper, and fully human meaning. The Church\u2019s doctrine on this point remains firm,” the document said.<\/p>\n
But, according to the document, this doesn’t mean those in same-sex relationships should be blankly denied blessings as long as those blessings are non-liturgical.<\/p>\n
It said priests should decide on a case-by-case basis and “should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing”<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,\u201d the document said. \u201cThe 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. It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.”<\/p>\n
The document pointed out that those in “irregular” unions, whether gay or straight, are in a state of sin but that should not deprive them of God’s love or mercy.<\/p>\n
“Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it,” the document said.<\/p>\n
It noted that when a same-sex blessing is sought, it must avoid \u201cany form of confusion or scandal\u201d and it \u201cshould never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, such a blessing \u201cmay instead find its place in other contexts, such as a visit to a shrine, a\u00a0with a priest, a prayer recited in a group, or during a pilgrimage\u201d.<\/p>\n
“Indeed, through these blessings that are given not through the ritual forms proper to the liturgy but as an expression of the Church\u2019s maternal heart\u2014similar to those that emanate from the core of popular piety\u2014there is no intention to legitimize anything, but rather to open one\u2019s life to God, to ask for his help to live better, and also to invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the Gospel may be lived with greater faithfulness,” the document stated.<\/p>\n
Since he became pope in 2013, Francis has embraced openness in many areas to include allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion, much to the disappointment of conservative Catholics. He has also adopted a more inclusive tone towards the LGBTQ+ community in some of his public statements.<\/p>\n
“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge” he said soon after becoming pope.<\/p>\n
Access the full document from the Vatican below.<\/p>\n