The Vatican and Pope Francis have just approved a historic ruling for the Roman Catholic Church. A ruling already hinted out earlier than expected and has been a long time coming.
The ruling by the Vatican was announced on Monday, December 18, 2023. Pope Francis, stated that Roman Catholic priests may administer blessings to same-sex couples and irregular or unmarried couples as long as they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies. According to the document, this is not to be confused with the traditional sacrament of heterosexual marriages and unions within the church.
It said that priests of the Catholic faith should decide on a case-by-case basis and “should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing.”
The offering of these blessings to same-sex and unmarried couples can be done “without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.” Historically, the Catholic Church’s teaching is that sex should only take place within a marriage. This new ruling states that the church cannot offer a “liturgical blessing” to same-sex or unmarried couples because it could imply that it “offer[s] a form of moral legitimacy” to these unions as they see these as presumptions to be “a marriage or to an extra-marital sexual practice.”
The Document also states that blessings in question must not be connected to any specific Catholic celebration or religious service and should not be given at the same time as civil union ceremonies. They also added that the blessings “cannot use set rituals or even involve the clothing and gestures” that belonged in traditional Catholic weddings.
The document emphasizes that “there is no intention to legitimize anything, but rather to open one’s life to God.” And encourage greater faithfulness to the Gospel and God.
These rulings have been long speculated on for as long as Pope Francis has been in power, as the Pope has been seen actively showing support for the LGBTQIA+ Community, through statements and have been seen supporting reforms towards the Church’s view on Queer folks and the faithful who are in the community.
This document in itself has effectively reversed a declaration the same body in the Vatican had issued back in 2021, which said that such blessings would not legitimize irregular situations but it is “a sign that God welcomes all.”
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