Pope authorises blessings for same-sex couples

He said it was also a “marked shift” from a 2021 decision in which the Vatican said the Church did not have the power to bless same-sex unions because God could not “bless sin”.

– Pastoral vision –

The Vatican’s announcement, known as a declaration, was published six weeks after the end of a global meeting on the Church’s future, which debated social issues such as opening doors to LGBTQ people or divorced and remarried people.

In early October, five conservative cardinals publicly asked Pope Francis to reaffirm Catholic doctrine on same-sex couples, but the hot-button issue was not addressed in the meeting’s final text.

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The head of the Vatican’s faith department wrote in an introduction to the document that it was “a broadening and enrichment” of the Vatican’s stance on blessings.

The text, entitled “Fiducia Supplicans — On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings”, was “based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis”, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez wrote.

The Argentine pontiff, 87, has sought to make the Church more welcoming to those it has long considered “sinners”, even if they cannot fully participate in it.

Just weeks after taking office in March 2013, Francis notably said that “if someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?”

Monday’s document says: “To avoid any form of confusion or scandal”, blessings for same-sex couples cannot be “performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding”.

“Such a blessing may instead find its place in other contexts, such as a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a prayer recited in a group, or during a pilgrimage,” it said.

Pope authorises blessings for same-sex couples