Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


Pope Francis allows priests to bless same-sex couples – as long as it doesn’t resemble an actual marriage ceremony
By Ramon Tomey // Dec 21, 2023

Pope Francis has allowed priests to bless same sex couples, but with a caveat: They should not resemble the actual marriage ceremony for heterosexual couples.

The permission came in the form of a document released on Dec. 18 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). It elaborated on a letter the pontiff sent to two conservative cardinals, which was published in October.

The preliminary response from October suggested that such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn't confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage. The recent response stressed this argument, noting that blessings should not be conferred at the same time as a civil union, using set rituals or even with the clothing and gestures that belong in a wedding. (Related: Pope Francis endorses LGBTQ marriage in new documentary film.)

Francis' response reaffirmed that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. However, it said requests for such blessings for same-sex couples shouldn't be denied full stop.

It also offered an extensive definition of the term "blessing" as written in the Holy Scripture. People seeking a transcendent relationship with God and looking for His love and mercy should not be subject to "an exhaustive moral analysis" as a precondition for receiving it.

"Ultimately, a blessing offers people a meaning to increase their trust in God. The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live," the document said.

We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Explore our decentralized, peer-to-peer, uncensorable Brighteon.io free speech platform here. Learn about our free, downloadable generative AI tools at Brighteon.AI. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance.

"It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered. Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it."

Pope's approval to bless same-sex couples a radical departure from Catholic doctrine on marriage

The Vatican holds that marriage is an indissoluble union between man and woman. Paragraph 1614 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions marriage as "the union of man and woman" – not woman and woman, or man and man. As a result, it has long opposed same-sex marriage.

In 2021, the DDF said that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions because "God cannot bless sin." The New York Post remarked: "That document created an outcry, one it appeared even Francis was blindsided by even though he had technically approved its publication."

Instead of standing the church's ground, Pope Francis removed the DDF official responsible for the 2021 declaration. The pontiff also set about laying the groundwork for a reversal.

According to the Dec. 18 document, the Vatican said the church must eschew "doctrinal or disciplinary schemes, especially when they lead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others; and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts [their] energies in inspecting and verifying."

The document also emphasized that people in "irregular" unions – whether homosexual or heterosexual – are in a state of sin. But it added that those in such unions do not deserve to be deprived of God's love or mercy.

The Jesuit pontiff has long supported same-sex marriage, going against the grain of Catholic doctrine. Conservative Catholics have denounced this "radical" stance, however. The Rev. Gerard Murray of the Archdiocese of New York blasted the edict as "absurd" and "horrific."

"It's the groundwork for redefining the nature of sin," he told Newsmax's Chris Salcedo. "The church is saying that your behavior is gravely sinful, offensive to God, but the church should bless you. And what does a blessing mean? It means that we ask God to favor you in that relationship."

"It's an innovation, meaning it's something new that was never there before. But it's not a development of the church's teaching; it's a contradiction and a corruption of that teaching."

Visit GodsWrath.news for more similar stories.

Watch LifeSiteNews founder John-Henry Westen discuss Pope Francis' new guidance on blessing same-sex couples below.

This video is from the Rick Langley channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Corporate media hypes Pope Francis' support of SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.

WOKE POPE says transgender people may be baptized as Catholics and serve as godparents.

Pope Francis' American cardinals are pro-LGBT revolutionaries with a radical agenda for the Church.

Pope Francis parties with transgender prostitutes in the Vatican to commemorate 'World Day of the Poor.'

False prophet? Pope Francis hosts bizarre drag queen-like circus performance in creepy reptilian-shaped Vatican Hall.

Sources include:

NYPost.com

SCBorromeo.org

Newsmax.com

Brighteon.com



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.