WASHINGTON — Pope Francis is allowing ordained ministers to bless same-sex couples as long as it isn’t confused with the sacrament of marriage, according to a new document issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Dec. 18.
The document, “Fiducia Supplicans” on the pastoral meaning of blessings, begins with an introduction by Cardinal Victor Fernández, prefect of the doctrine office, who said that the pastoral meaning of blessings is “based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis.”
He said the new rule allowing blessings of “couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples” would not officially validate their status or change “in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.”
The document further expands a letter Pope Francis sent to a group of cardinals in early October that indicated the possibility of Catholic blessings for same-sex couples, with the condition that this action would not be confused with marriage ceremonies between men and women.
Pope Francis’ letter was in response to questions, called “dubia,” from five cardinals who raised concerns on same-sex unions, divine revelation, synodality, women’s ordination, and sacramental absolution prior to the Vatican’s October synod on synodality.
In response, the pope wrote that the Church “has a very clear understanding of marriage: an exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to procreation.”
He added, “The Church avoids any type of rite or sacramental that might contradict this conviction and suggest that something that is not marriage is recognized as marriage.”
He also cautioned that “in our relationships with people, we must not lose the pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes.”
The new document explains that the very definition of blessing in the Bible stems from those looking for God’s love and mercy.
“Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,” the document said. “The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live.”
The document also points out that in a blessing the couple is blessed, not the union. It says that in “a brief prayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance — but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely.”
The Catholic Church has emphasized that marriage is an indissoluble union between man and woman and as a result it opposes same-sex marriage.
The new document stressed that people in “irregular” unions are in a state of sin, but they should not be deprived of God’s love or mercy. “When people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it,” it added.
Chieko Noguchi, executive director of public affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the Vatican’s document “articulated a distinction between liturgical [sacramental] blessings, and pastoral blessings, which may be given to persons who desire God’s loving grace in their lives.
“The Church’s teaching on marriage has not changed, and this declaration affirms that, while also making an effort to accompany people through the imparting of pastoral blessings because each of us needs God’s healing love and mercy in our lives,” she said in a Dec. 18 statement.
Jesuit Father James Martin, an editor at America magazine and advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church, described the Vatican’s new document as a “major step forward in the church’s ministry to LGBTQ people.”
In a Dec. 18 post on X, formerly Twitter, he said the document “recognizes the deep desire in many Catholic same-sex couples for God’s presence in their loving relationships” and is a “marked shift” from a Vatican document two years ago that said “God does not and cannot bless sin.”
“The declaration opens the door to non-liturgical blessings for same-sex couples, something that had been previously off limits for bishops, priests, and deacons. Along with many priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends in same-sex unions,” he said.
Mathew Schmalz, professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, said the document will likely “provoke strong resistance in some quarters, particularly the United States and Africa,” but he said it shows that the pope is “increasing his efforts to promote a culture of mercy as his pontificate reaches its final phase.”
The full text of the document is available here: press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/12/18/0901/01963.html#en