Pope Francis surprised the world in December when he authorized that chaplains can bless homosexual couples as long as this blessing is not equated in any way with marriage, which according to the Church remains exclusively between a man and a woman. The measure, the most important step for the inclusion of the LGTBI group so far in the Catholic Church, has created many doubts among some bishops around the world, and that is why the Vatican wanted to clarify yesterday that these blessings do not they are no “approval” or justification by the Church of “something that is not morally acceptable”.
In a statement by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the body in charge of regulating Catholic morality, the Holy See endorsed these blessings as a gesture of “pastoral closeness” both for couples “in irregular situations” – that is to say, all those who are not married by the Church – as for same-sex couples. However, he pointed out that this kind of blessing had to be short and spontaneous prayers, away from any form of ritual or liturgy, and that they also could not be done with people in wedding clothes or at the same time as civil unions to avoid confusion with marriage
As expected, the movement did not please the most conservative sectors of the Church. Nor has it been understood in some countries, particularly in Africa, where some priests and bishops have said they will ignore the new Vatican directives. It is an important question, since in some of these places relationships between people of the same sex continue to be pursued by justice. Faced with this situation, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Argentine Víctor Manuel Fernández, has explained that each local bishop, depending on the characteristics of the place, will have to decide how to apply the new rules with “pastoral prudence”, but without opposing the step that Francis is proposing to his priests.
However, the prefect also concedes that in no case does the Vatican’s statement imply exposing homosexuals to violence. “If there are laws that penalize with prison, and in some cases with torture and even death, the mere act of declaring oneself gay, it is understood that it would be imprudent to be a blessing”, clarified yesterday in a new document from the Vatican . The Holy See considers that in countries where homosexuality is criminalized a “broad, long-term pastoral task” must be carried out with formation or defense of human dignity, beyond blessings.
The Holy See insists that these “spontaneous or pastoral” blessings must be very brief and far from any ritual formula, and has given the example of a divorced couple who, during a pilgrimage, ask a priest for a blessing. “Lord, look at these two sons of yours, grant them health, work, peace, mutual help. Free them from everything that contradicts your Gospel and grant them to live according to your will. Amen”, the priest should say to them. “It’s ten or fifteen seconds. Does it make sense to deny this kind of blessing to two people who ask for it?” asks the prefect.
Faced with the questions that have arisen, the Vatican believes that perhaps in some places a catechesis will have to be held to help understand that this kind of blessing “is not a ratification of the life led by those who request it”. “If a priest makes these simple blessings he is not a heretic, he is not ratifying anything nor is he denying Catholic doctrine”, insists Fernández in this new explanatory document. “This non-ritualized form of blessing, with the simplicity and brevity of its form, is not intended to justify something that is not morally acceptable. Obviously it’s not a wedding, but it’s not even a go-ahead or a ratification of anything. It is just the repose of a shepherd to two people who ask for God’s help. That is why in this case the pastor does not ask for conditions nor does he want to know the intimate life of these subjects”, concludes the prefect of the old holy office, who has made a coup against the previous position of the Holy See.
