Pope Francis has suggested he would be open to having the Catholic Church bless same-sex couples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to a group of cardinals who asked him for clarity on the issue, he said any request for a blessing should be treated with “pastoral charity”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added, however, that the Church still considered same-sex relationships “objectively sinful” and would not recognise same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The request was one of a number sent to the Pope ahead of a weeks-long global gathering to discuss the future of the Church, set to get underway at the Vatican on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Catholic Church, a blessing is a prayer or plea, usually delivered by a minister, asking for God to look favourably on the person or people being blessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bishops in a number of countries, including Belgium and Germany, have begun to allow priests to bless same-sex couples, but the position of Church authorities remained unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though this seems a significant change in tone, it has to be remembered that as recently the spring of 2021, the same pope approved a decree from the Vatican’s doctrinal office forbidding priests from blessing same-sex unions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, it was stressed that such partnerships are sinful and as such could not be blessed. Earlier this year, when Pope Francis talked of homosexuality not being a crime, he still talked of it as being a sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In referring to blessings now, Pope Francis has not expressly talked of what would be blessed: the unions or the individual or group wanting to be blessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He talked more generally of those asking for blessing as expressing a request for help from God to be able to live better, something he said should not be denied them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pope said the Church understood marriage to be an “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman” and should avoid “any type of rite or sacramental that might contradict this conviction”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he added that “when a blessing is requested, it is expressing a plea to God for help, a supplication to live better”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Appearing to suggest that requests for blessings should be considered on a case-by-case basis, he said that “decisions that may be part of pastoral prudence in certain circumstances should not necessarily become a norm”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Canon law should not and cannot cover everything,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the Church should always approach its relationships with people with “kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness and encouragement”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this does not mark a doctrinal departure, Pope Francis’ papacy has been characterised by moves to soften the Church’s language on sexuality and other key issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is something that, throughout, has angered those conservatives who look to hold more strictly to the historic teachings of the faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In February, a vote of senior figures in the Church of England backed proposals to allow prayers of blessing for same-sex couples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move would mean a same-sex couple could go to an Anglican church after a legal marriage ceremony for services including prayers of dedication, thanksgiving and God’s blessing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: BBC <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n