Same-sex unions are a sin, says the Vatican. The statement was endorsed by the "liberal" Pope
Married lesbians and gays, don't bless!
The Catholic Church and its priests cannot bless same-sex unions because "God cannot bless sin", the Vatican, or rather the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said yesterday in a document formulating an answer to the question of what position priests should take in this situation. The question arose, according to the Reuters news agency, in the context of the fact that some parishes in the US or Germany have in recent months begun to give blessings even to lesbians and gays in civil unions/marriages as a welcome to the Church.
The two-page document also states that same-sex marriages are a matter of choice and "there are absolutely no reasons to consider them similar or perhaps even comparable to God's plan for marriage and family. "Thus , priests may continue to bless same-sex couples living in mutual fidelity, but any form of blessing is prohibited in the context of formal recognition of these cohabitations. At the same time, it should be said that the Vatican has objected to considering homosexuality itself a sin. The material in question, according to the official statement, refers exclusively to marriages between same-sex couples.
It may be somewhat puzzling, then, that the document of which the Church's official statements are a part was signed by Pope Francis. In the past, he has impressed the public and the faithful with his relatively welcoming attitudes towards LGBT people. Although he did not comment directly on same-sex marriage, in the document "Francesco" he stated, among other things, that "even homosexual people have the right to be in a family because they are children of God. That is also why we should have registered partnerships that legally ensure this possibility". However, the Vatican has subsequently sought to temper even these statements by the Pope - as they were allegedly taken out of context. The Pope himself has also added on the subject that one thing is "legal coverage" and another is "ecclesiastical approval". This is certainly not something that same-sex couples will just get. However, it should also be said that when the Pope signed the document cited, he commented that it was "not intended to be an expression of unjust discrimination, but rather a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite."
Zdroj: Giphy
Church against Church...
Although one might also directly offer the question of how exactly the Church dignitaries ascertain the aforementioned plans of God (and whether God has noticed that some millennia have passed during which much has changed, including in society and also in human rights), it is clear that the answer is not forthcoming in this case. On the other hand, as the reaction of the executive director of the Catholic LGBT center New Ways Ministry, Francis DeBernard, suggests, many Catholics are already quite clear in their views of "God's plans", the Vatican's statement notwithstanding. "What the Vatican doesn't realize is that the Catholic faithful are not happy with such a statement. Catholics recognize the sanctity of love between married same-sex couples and acknowledge this love as inspired and supported by God. This also makes them meet all the 'conditions' for a blessing," he said. It is the Catholic Church that is perhaps one of the most accepting of same-sex cohabitation of all those within Christianity, and in the US, for example, more than half of Catholics, along with Protestants and Orthodox Christians, directly support same-sex marriage.
It is not surprising, then, that the public reaction has not been long in coming. Images of weddings of same-sex couples began to proliferate on social media, and Chasten Buttigieg, husband of US presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, was among those who decided to react to the Church's statement. In addition to the photo from the wedding, he also added the comment that "love is love, lesbian and gay marriage is legal and the Pope is not a county official ."
A representative of Catholics for Choice, Charlotte Clymer, then tweeted that "being LGBTQ is not a choice. LGBTQ were created by God. We were born that way and that perfect, regardless of what the Vatican or any other religious authority demands."
And the director of the Catholic LGBT Center, Francis DeBernard, concluded that the newly published statements are ultimately not surprising, but still disappointing. At least, that is, for anyone who had hoped that even the Church would finally begin to somehow modernize its positions toward people of different sexual orientations. Indeed, dozens of countries, including in Western Europe, have already legalized same-sex marriage, and the Church's reticence toward LGBTQ people has long discouraged younger generations from coming to faith.
