Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples

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NB: Deliberate or not, this document was released on the Feast of Our Lady's Expectation, which honors the fruitfulness of the Divine Maternity, and yet the Conciliar Church has chosen this date to celebrate instead the sterility associated with 'same-sex couples.'

“How can one avoid the conclusion: there where the Faith of the Church is, there also is Her sanctity, and there where the sanctity of the Church is, there is the Catholic Church. A Church which no longer brings forth good fruits, a Church which is sterile, is not the Catholic Church.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Letter to Friends and Benefactors, September 8, 1978)

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Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples if they don’t resemble marriage

December 18, 2023
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.

The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage.

The new document repeats that condition and elaborates on it, reaffirming that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. And it stresses that blessings in question must be non-liturgical in nature and should not be conferred at the same time as a civil union, using set rituals or even with the clothing and gestures that belong in a wedding.

But it says requests for such blessings for same-sex couples should not be denied full stop. It offers an extensive and broad definition of the term “blessing” in Scripture to insist that people seeking a transcendent relationship with God and looking for his love and mercy should not be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” as a precondition for receiving it.

“Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,” the document said. “The 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.”

He added: “It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.”

The Vatican holds that marriage is an indissoluble union between man and woman. As a result, it has long opposed same-sex marriage.

And in 2021, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said flat-out that the church couldn’t bless the unions of two men or two women because “God cannot bless sin.”

That document created an outcry, one it appeared even Francis was blindsided by even though he had technically approved its publication. Soon after it was published, he removed the official responsible for it and set about laying the groundwork for a reversal.

In the new document, the Vatican said the church must shy away from “doctrinal or disciplinary schemes, especially when they lead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others, and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts his or her energies in inspecting and verifying.”

It stressed that people in “irregular” unions — gay or straight — are in a state of sin. But it said that shouldn’t deprive them of God’s love or mercy.

“Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it,” the document said.

The Rev. James Martin, who advocates for greater welcome for LGBTQ+ Catholics, praised the new document as a “huge step forward” and a “dramatic shift” from the Vatican’s 2021 policy.

The new document “recognizes the deep desire in many Catholic same-sex couples for God’s presence and help in their committed relationships,” he said in an email. “Along with many Catholic priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends in same-sex marriages.”

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BREAKING: Pope Francis publishes norms for clergy to ‘bless’ homosexual couples
Pope Francis’ new document allows clergy to bless any homosexual couple, in contradiction to the unchangeable Catholic teaching that the Church cannot bless sinful relationships.



Pope Francis/ Cardinal Victor Fernández
Vatican News/Mazur/cbcew.org.uk

Dec 18, 2023
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews [adapted]) — Pope Francis and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández have issued a text allowing “blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex” in contradiction to the unchangeable Catholic teaching that the Church cannot bless sinful relationships.

The declaration Fiducia Supplicans, issued without warning on December 18 by the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new prefect, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, presented the results of a project which he has been working on with Pope Francis.

The text opens the door officially for Catholic clergy to provide blessings for same-sex couples, along with the norms outlined by the cardinal and the Pope.

In paragraph 31 of the text, Fernández writes that:

Within the horizon outlined here is the possibility of blessings of couples in irregular situations and of same-sex couples, the form of which should not find any ritual fixation on the part of ecclesial authorities, in order not to produce confusion with the blessing proper to the sacrament of marriage.

In these cases, a blessing is imparted that not only has ascending value but is also the invocation of a descending blessing from God Himself on those who, recognizing themselves to be destitute and in need of His help, do not claim legitimacy of their own status, but beg that all that is true of good and humanly valid in their lives and relationships be invested, healed and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit. These forms of blessing express a supplication to God to grant those aids that come from the impulses of His Spirit – what classical theology calls ‘present graces’ – so that human relationships may mature and grow in fidelity to the Gospel message, free themselves from their imperfections and frailties, and express themselves in the ever-increasing dimension of divine love. {Section 31}

The “horizon outlined here” is found in a contradictory preamble to this section in the document. The cardinal stated early on that all “rites and prayers that could create confusion between what constitutes marriage – which is the ‘exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children’ – and what contradicts it are inadmissible.”

He also noted that “from a strictly liturgical point of view, a blessing requires that what is blessed be conformed to God’s will, as expressed in the teachings of the Church.” Stemming from this, he presented the Church’s teaching, condemning sexual activity outside of marriage:

the Church does not have the power to confer its liturgical blessing when that would somehow offer a form of moral legitimacy to a union that presumes to be a marriage or to an extra-marital sexual practice. The Holy Father reiterated the substance of this Declaration in his Responses to the Dubia of two Cardinals.

However, the cardinal added next that a blessing should not be reduced to this view only:

One must also avoid the risk of reducing the meaning of blessings to this point of view alone, for it would lead us to expect the same moral conditions for a simple blessing that are called for in the reception of the sacraments. Such a risk requires that we broaden this perspective further. Indeed, there is the danger that a pastoral gesture that is so beloved and widespread will be subjected to too many moral prerequisites, which, under the claim of control, could overshadow the unconditional power of God’s love that forms the basis for the gesture of blessing.

He stated that a person who asks for a blessing “show[s] himself to be in need of God’s saving presence in his life and one who asks for a blessing from the Church recognizes the latter as a sacrament of the salvation that God offers. To seek a blessing in the Church is to acknowledge that the life of the Church springs from the womb of God’s mercy and helps us to move forward, to live better, and to respond to the Lord’s will.”

The new document, also entitled “On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings,” was issued first in Italian, along with translations into French, English, German and Spanish, although no Latin version is yet apparent.

Introducing the text, Fernández wrote how it was based on “several questions that have come to this Dicastery in recent years,” including the internationally famous dubia and response from the Pope, issued by five cardinals over the summer, and made public on the eve of the Synod’s 2023 meeting. The text was “submitted” to Pope Francis to review, and subsequently received his approval.

Fernández attested throughout the document that such blessings should not be confused with marriage, nor should they be officially compiled in a liturgical rite, or liturgical textbook – such as the Roman Missal or the Book of Blessings. Hence, he stated that “one should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation.”

“At the same time,” Fernández added, “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. In a brief prayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance—but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely.”

He also closed the question of same-sex blessings, stating that the new document provided all the necessary answers for the topic, and that individual priests were now free to act according to their own “discernment” in line with the text:

What has been said in this Declaration regarding the blessings of same-sex couples is sufficient to guide the prudent and fatherly discernment of ordained ministers in this regard. Thus, beyond the guidance provided above, no further responses should be expected about possible ways to regulate details or practicalities regarding blessings of this type.

The text was swiftly welcomed by heterodox LGBT advocate, Father James Martin SJ, who – responding to the Vatican’s opening “the possibility for the blessing of same-sex couples in new declaration,” wrote:

This is a major step forward in the church’s ministry to LGBTQ people and recognizes the desire for same-sex couples for God’s presence and help in their committed and loving relationships.

Catholic teaching on same-sex ‘blessings’
In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul states that homosexual actions are sinful, explaining that “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers” will “inherit the kingdom of God,” but rather, according to his letter to the Romans, those who practice homosexuality will receive “in their own persons the due penalty for their error.”

Under the leadership of Cardinal Ratzinger in 1986, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a document instructing bishops on the pastoral care of homosexual persons. The CDF admonished bishops to ensure they, and any “pastoral programme” in the diocese are “clearly stating that homosexual activity is immoral.”

READ: Pope Francis leads ecumenical leaders at Vatican prayer vigil for the Synod on Synodality

Such an authentic pastoral approach would “assist homosexual persons at all levels of the spiritual life: through the sacraments, and in particular through the frequent and sincere use of the sacrament of Reconciliation, through prayer, witness, counsel and individual care,” stated the CDF.

The instruction adds:

But we wish to make it clear that departure from the Church’s teaching, or silence about it, in an effort to provide pastoral care is neither caring nor pastoral. Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral. The neglect of the Church’s position prevents homosexual men and women from receiving the care they need and deserve.

Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not.

In 2021, the CDF  stated clearly that the Church does not “power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex.”

The CDF stated that it is “not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex.”

But as part of the response to the five dubia cardinals’ question about Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis definitive statement that it is impossible to ordain women, Pope Francis’ July 11 letter stated:

let us acknowledge that a clear and authoritative doctrine has not yet been exhaustively developed about the exact nature of a “definitive statement.”

It is not a dogmatic definition, and yet it is to be observed by all. No one can publicly contradict it and yet it can be the subject of study, as is the case with the validity of ordinations in the Anglican Communion.

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Cardinal Fernandez Mocks Catholics: "Couples are blessed. The union is not blessed"

gloria.tv | December 23, 2023

Cardinal Fernández attempts to further mislead (gaslighting) his audience by inventing the hypocritical distinction between homosexual “couple” and “union”: “Couples are blessed. The union is not blessed.”

Talking to PillarCatholic.com (December 22), he gave the impression that the “blessing” was for “two very close friends who share good things”, even if they have sinned homosexually. Fernández “often” met such couples, who are sometimes “exemplary”.

The blessing can be given “even if there is some kind of [homo]sexual relationship”. The blessing, he said, would allegedly “not validate or justify anything”.

About the German de facto schism [which wants the same thing as he does], Fernández said: “Some bishops have gone ahead with ritualized forms of blessing irregular couples, and this is inadmissible. They should reformulate their proposal in this regard.” He is “planning a trip to Germany to have some conversations that I believe are important”.

Fernández reacted with mockery to the strong opposition of African bishops: “Prudence and attention to the local culture could allow different ways of application, but not a total denial of this step required of priests.”

He went on with derision: “I well understand the concern of the bishops in some African or Asian countries, in places where being homosexual might put you in prison. It is an affront to human dignity that certainly distresses the bishops, and challenges them in their fatherhood. It is likely that the bishops do not want to expose homosexual persons to violence. They themselves refer [however consenting!] to the ‘legislation’ of their countries.”

Finally, Fernández’ came up with wishful thinking: “I want to go to Heaven and be very happy with God eternally.”

Taken from here.