In response to pushback from several bishops, Pope Francis reiterated that there is nothing “heretical” in his recent move to allow blessings for same-sex couples.
The new rule on blessings was declared last month, allowing priests to bless same-sex couples “without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.” It does not require priests to bless same-sex couples, but rather provides guidelines under which they could.
However, bishops from Poland, Zambia and a number of other countries said they would not implement the new policy.
Zambia’s bishops conference stated that same-sex couple blessings were “not for implementation in Zambia,” and called for additional reflection on the rule. Poland’s bishops conference likewise said it would not bless same-sex couples.
German Cardinal Gerhard Müller called the declaration “self-contradictory” in simultaneously affirming the church’s historical stance on marriage while allowing same-sex couples to be blessed by priests.
The Vatican responded to the pushback in a Thursday press release, stating that “there is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally from this Declaration or to consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the Church or blasphemous.” It clarified that for a priest to give blessings to same-sex couples as prescribed by the Declaration would not be an approval of the relationship, but “solely the response of a pastor towards two persons who ask for God’s help.” It also reaffirmed that the blessings should not be given in any connection with a same-sex wedding.
The statement added that, “Prudence and attention to the ecclesial context and to the local culture could allow for different methods of application… If there are laws that condemn the mere act of declaring oneself as a homosexual with prison and in some cases with torture and even death, it goes without saying that a blessing would be imprudent.
“It is clear that the Bishops do not wish to expose homosexual persons to violence.”
The new rule follows Pope Francis’ delicate efforts to make the Catholic Church more welcoming towards LGBTQ+ people, despite resistance from more conservative church leaders. The Vatican previously stated that transgender people could be baptized in the Catholic Church, and the pope has denounced the criminalization of homosexuality in interviews.
