The Vatican on Monday officially authorized the blessing of same-sex couples and “in an irregular situation” for the Church, a first, while remaining firm on its opposition to homosexual marriage.
This blessing “will never be performed at the same time as the civil rites of union, nor even in connection with them,” specifies the document from the dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved by Pope Francis.
“It is possible to bless couples in an irregular situation and couples of the same sex, in a form which must not be fixed ritually by the ecclesial authorities, so as not to create confusion with the blessing specific to the sacrament of marriage”, explains this document published in several languages by the Vatican.
This is the first time that the Church has opened the way so clearly for the blessing of same-sex couples, a subject which crystallizes tensions within the Church due to strong opposition from its conservative fringe, in particular to UNITED STATES.
Despite the non-recognition of the Holy See, the blessing of same-sex couples was however already practiced until now by certain priests, notably in Belgium and Germany.
This statement comes six weeks after the close of the General Assembly of the Synod for the Future of the Catholic Church, a global consultative meeting during which bishops, women and lay people debated social issues such as welcoming people LGBTQ+ or the divorced and remarried.
In early October, five conservative cardinals publicly asked Pope Francis to reaffirm Catholic doctrine on gay couples, but the Synod’s final document left this burning issue aside.
In 2021, the Vatican reaffirmed that it considered homosexuality a “sin” and confirmed the impossibility for same-sex couples to receive the sacrament of marriage.
Since his election in 2013, the Argentine Jesuit, who insists on the importance of a Church “open to all”, has repeatedly aroused the ire of conservatives, notably by restricting the use of the traditional Latin mass in 2021.