2023-12-18 13:50:39
The Vatican religious authority under its new leader publishes a statement of principles. And abandons the ban on blessing homosexual couples. However, confusion with a marriage must be ruled out. And the blessing must occur outside of a church service.
Homosexual couples can now also be blessed in the Catholic Church. The Vatican religious authority released a policy statement on Monday allowing Catholic clergy to bless unmarried and homosexual couples. This means that the highest magisterium in Rome has made a clear turnaround in dealing with people who feel homosexual.
Document approved by the Pope
The text entitled “Fiducia supplicans” (German: The pleading trust) emphasizes that confusion with a marriage must be ruled out. A clergyman is also not allowed to give the blessing during a church service.
The religious authority’s statement was released at the Vatican on Monday in several languages, including German. It bears the signature of the new prefect of the religious authority, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, who is considered a close confidant of the Pope. The letter was expressly approved by Francis.
“Without changing church teachings”
In the authority’s text, Fernandez emphasizes that the church has “broadened and enriched” its understanding of what a blessing is in light of Pope Francis’ pastoral ideals. With this further developed understanding of blessing, it is possible to “bless couples in irregular situations and couples of the same sex, without thereby officially confirming their status or changing in any way the Church’s longstanding teaching on marriage.”
As recently as February 2021, the Vatican religious authority announced that blessings for homosexual couples were not possible in the Catholic Church. According to current Catholic teaching, it is not a sin to have homosexual feelings. However, same-sex intimate acts are “intrinsically not okay”. The expression of sexuality is reserved for marriage, which can only be concluded between a man and a woman.
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