2023-12-18 18:39:30
A “major advance” according to certain priests
This decision “clarifies things because there was some vagueness on this question“, explains to AFP Mgr Patrick Vadrini, canonist and professor emeritus at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.
“At the same time as it defines broad general norms, the Church leaves the means to those who have direct contact with people to evaluate to what extent the norm is applied. We adapt to people“, he adds.
The American priest James Martin, known for his commitment to the LGBT+ faithful, for his part greeted on X (ex-Twitter) “a major step forward in the Church’s ministry to LGBT+ people” which “recognizes the deep desire of many same-sex Catholic couples to see God in their romantic relationships“.
This doctrinal change might accentuate the anger of a traditional fringe of the Church, while certain conservative voices have increased their criticism of the governance of the Argentine pope, saying they fear a distortion of doctrine and a loss of landmarks.
It also comes six weeks following the closing of the General Assembly of the Synod for the Future of the Catholic Church, a global consultative meeting during which bishops, women and lay people debated social issues such as welcoming LGBT+ people or divorced and remarried people.
In early October, five conservative cardinals publicly asked Pope Francis to reaffirm Catholic doctrine on gay couples, but the Synod’s final document left this burning issue aside.
In 2021, the Vatican reaffirmed that it considered homosexuality a “sin” and confirmed the impossibility for same-sex couples to receive the sacrament of marriage.
Pope Francis, ardent defender of a Church “open to all”, has on several occasions reached out to the LGBT+ community without calling into question Catholic doctrine on marriage or adoption.
“If a person is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge them?“, he declared in 2013, a few months following his election.
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