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鈥檚 love and mercy shouldn鈥檛 be subject to 鈥渁n exhaustive moral analysis鈥� to receive it.
The document from the Vatican鈥檚 doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn鈥檛 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 , 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 鈥渂lessing鈥� in Scripture to insist that people seeking a transcendent relationship with God and looking for his love and mercy should not be subject to 鈥渁n exhaustive moral analysis鈥� as a precondition for receiving it.
鈥淯ltimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,鈥� the document said. 鈥淭he 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.鈥�
He added: 鈥淚t is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.鈥�
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鈥檚 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said flat-out that the church couldn鈥檛 bless the unions of two men or two women because
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 鈥渄octrinal 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.鈥�
It stressed that people in 鈥渋rregular鈥� unions 鈥� gay or straight 鈥� are in a state of sin. But it said that shouldn鈥檛 deprive them of God鈥檚 love or mercy.
鈥淭hus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it,鈥� the document said.
The Rev. James Martin, who advocates for greater welcome for LGBTQ+ Catholics, praised the new document as a 鈥渉uge step forward鈥� and a 鈥渄ramatic shift鈥� from the Vatican鈥檚 2021 policy.
The new document 鈥渞ecognizes the deep desire in many Catholic same-sex couples for God鈥檚 presence and help in their committed relationships,鈥� he said in an email. 鈥淎long with many Catholic priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends in same-sex marriages.鈥�
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