In a significant shift in Vatican doctrine, Pope Francis has formally permitted Roman Catholic priests to bless same-s3x couples.
The development makes the Roman Catholic Church more welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (L.G.B.T.Q.) members.
The Vatican had long said it could not bless same-sex couples because it would undermine the church doctrine that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
The new rule was issued in a declaration by the church’s office on doctrine and introduced by its prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández
The blessings may be carried out providing they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies, nor at the same time as a civil union, according to a Vatican document approved by the Pope
The latest ruling fleshes out the opening the Pope made to blessing same-sex couples last October and marks a shift away from a 2021 ruling from the Vatican doctrine office which barred any blessings, saying God “cannot bless sin.”
Cardinal Fernández said the declaration did not amend “the traditional doctrine of the church about marriage,” because it allowed no liturgical rite that could be confused with the sacrament of marriage.
He wrote: “It is precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.”
In his introduction to the declaration, which was signed and approved by Pope Francis, Cardinal Fernández nevertheless acknowledged that the broadening of the scope of who could receive blessings amounted to “a real development” and a “specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral meaning of blessings.”
He said the decision was “based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis.”
This new declaration opens the door to nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples, something that had been previously off-limits for bishops, priests and deacons,” said the Rev. James Martin, a prominent advocate for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics, according to The Times.
“Along with many priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends in same-sex unions.”
There has been a burst of activity on the L.G.B.T.Q. issue in recent months from the office of the Doctrine of the Faith, run by Cardinal Fernández, especially after many advocates for L.G.B.T.Q.
According to CNN, the Vatican released Francis’ private response over the summer to doubts from conservative cardinals about the possibility of blessing same-sex couples, a practice they absolutely opposed.
Francis instead suggested the blessings were a possibility, seemingly reversing a 2021 Vatican ruling that came down hard against the blessing of gay unions, arguing that God “cannot bless sin.”
