Pope Francis granted permission for blessings for same-sex couples on Monday but stressed that these blessings should not be established as a Catholic rite or associated with civil unions or weddings.
In a document approved by Pope Francis, the Vatican backed “the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex.”
“One should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing,” it said.
It does not, however, change the Catholic Church’s position on same-sex marriages or unions.
According to the Church, marriage is only between a man and a woman in order to have children.
“This blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them,” the document stressed.
In an introduction, the head of the Vatican’s faith department, which wrote the document, said it was “a broadening and enrichment” of the Vatican’s stance on blessings, “based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis,” who wants a church open to all.
The Vatican stated in 2021 that the Church lacks the authority to bless same-sex unions because God cannot “bless sin.”
However, on Monday, it was upheld that “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.
