Pope Green Lights Approval of Same-Sex Couples, But It’s Conditional
In a play that has been building for a while, Pope Francis has formally permitted Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples as the Catholic Church takes a significant shift in its stance towards LGBTQ people. However, the approval of same-sex couples is conditional and comes with specific terms.
According to a Vatican document approved by Pope Francis, the aforementioned blessings for LGBTQ couples may only be carried out if they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies, and may not take place concurrently with a civil union. What that means is, this is not a step towards the approval of same-sex marriages. At this point, the Vatican is holding its stance that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Pope Francis approved the document issued by the Vatican on Monday, December 18. Although the document gives priests the right to make judgments and decisions on a case-by-case basis, the Vatican is saying that this should be taken as a sign that “God welcomes all.”
In the Catholic Church, a blessing is a prayer or plea delivered by a minister, asking for God to look favorable on the person or persons being blessed. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, who is a prefect of the Church, states that the Pope’s approval of same-sex couples receiving blessings does not mean that the Catholic Church is now validating the status of same-sex couples.
So it’s an olive branch from the Catholic Church to the LGBTQ community, at best. The Pope’s decision to green-light same-sex couples receiving Catholic blessings is not a change in position towards the LGBTQ community. As far as that is concerned, the Church’s approval of same-sex couples remains much the same as it did before this move: it does not recognize same-sex marriage or validate the recognition of same-sex couples as an entity.
This is not the first move Pope Francis has made in attempting to make the Catholic Church a more inclusive place. In November, the Pope fired a conservative Texan Bishop for criticizing Pope Francis’ recent statements regarding the Church’s acceptance of LGBTQ people.
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Feature image: Photo by Guglielmo Mangiapane. Reuters.
