Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples that must not resemble marriage

Newlyweds meet with Pope Francis during the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican last month. “It is one thing to formally approve same-gender blessings, which he had already pastorally permitted, but to say that people should not be subjected to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive God’s love and mercy is an even more significant step.” The Vatican holds that marriage is an indissoluble union between a man and a woman. 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 2021 pronouncement created an outcry and appeared to have blindsided Francis, even though he had technically approved its publication. In the new document, the Vatican said the church must avoid “doctrinal or disciplinary schemes especially when they lead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others.” It said ultimately, a blessing is about helping people increase their trust in God. In accepting people as God made them, and if Jesus’ primary teaching is we should love and serve one another in the community, I think that’s what gives Pope Francis the openness to God’s presence in those relationships.” The Church of England on Sunday announced a similar move, allowing clergy to bless the unions of same-sex couples who have had civil weddings or partnerships, but it still bans church weddings for same-sex couples.