Pope Francis has hinted that he would be willing to allow the Catholic Church to bestow blessings on same-sex couples.
He stated that any request for a blessing should be treated with “pastoral charity” in response to a group of cardinals who questioned him about the matter.
“We cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude,” he said.
The Church would not recognize same-sex marriage, he continued, and still viewed same-sex relationships as “objectively sinful”.
The request was one of several made to the Pope prior to a weeks-long international conference on the future of the Church that is set to begin at the Vatican on Wednesday.
A blessing is a prayer or supplication made to God on behalf of the person or people receiving it in the Catholic Church.
Bishops have started allowing priests to bless same-sex couples in a number of countries, including Belgium and Germany, but the position of Church authorities remained ambiguous.
The Vatican’s doctrinal office decided against approving the practice in 2021 after receiving a similar request for clarification.
In response to the most recent demand, the Pope stated that the Church held the belief that marriage was an “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman” and should avoid “any type of rite or sacramental that might contradict this conviction”.
However, he went on to say that “when a blessing is requested, it is expressing a plea to God for help, a supplication to live better”.
“Pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage,” he said.
He claimed that “decisions that may be part of pastoral prudence in certain circumstances should not necessarily become a norm” in an apparent attempt to imply that requests for blessings should be evaluated on an individual basis.
“Canon law should not and cannot cover everything,” he said.
The Church, he continued, must always treat people with “kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement”.
Senior Church of England figures voted in favor of allowing prayers of blessing for same-sex couples in February.
The move would allow same-sex couples to attend services at an Anglican church after getting legally married, including prayers for God’s blessing and dedication.
Source-BBC
