The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has ruled that blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples cannot be “licit” in a decision backed by Pope Francis.
The ruling quotes Pope Francis and speaks of how such blessings are motivated by a sincere desire to welcome and accompany homosexual persons, to whom are proposed paths of growth in faith, “so that those who manifest a homosexual orientation can receive the assistance they need to understand and fully carry out God’s will in their lives”.
The response also sets out how “on such paths, listening to the word of God, prayer, participation in ecclesial liturgical actions and the exercise of charity can play an important role in sustaining the commitment to read one's own history and to adhere with freedom and responsibility to one's baptismal call, because “God loves every person and the Church does the same”, rejecting all unjust discrimination.”
But ultimately the CDF’s response does not give any ground to advocates for a more liberal approach. Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the CDF, says in a note explaining the decision that the Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions, says: “It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex.
“The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan.”
Central amongst the concerns raised in the document is the view that blessings as “sacramentals” exist as reflections and anticipations of the sacraments themselves, so that a blessing of sexual union would “constitute a certain imitation or analogue of the nuptial blessing”.
The ruling represents a setback to hopes of any future possibility of same-sex blessings in the Catholic Church. The note was shown to and approved by Pope Francis before publication. Cardinal Ladaria states that “the Church does not have, and cannot have, the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex in the sense intended above”.
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