Pope Francis says the Catholic Church can't bless same-sex unions

16 March 2021, 12:32

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Jazmin Duribe

By Jazmin Duribe

The CDF stated the decision was "not intended to be a form of unjust discrimination, but rather a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite".

Pope Francis has officially declared that Catholic priests can't bless same-sex unions because God does "not bless sin".

In the Catholic Church, members of the LGBTQ+ community should be treated the same as heterosexual people, however, gay sex and marriage is strictly prohibited. Reuters reported that some parishes in Germany and the US had given blessings, which is given by a priest or minister in the name of the Church, to people in same-sex relationships. However, the Church does not have the power to do so.

The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) made the announcement on Monday (Mar 15) in a statement approved by Pope Francis. The CDF said a same-sex blessing would be "impossible". The CDF also added that the decision was "not intended to be a form of unjust discrimination, but rather a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite".

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Pope Francis says the Catholic Church can't bless same-sex unions.
Pope Francis says the Catholic Church can't bless same-sex unions. Picture: Giulio Origlia/Getty Images, Getty Images

Pope Francis has always opposed gay marriage but he has supported the rights of gay couples. In 2013, he famously said: "Who am I to judge gay people?" And in a documentary released in October 2020, Pope Francis said he thought same-sex couples should be allowed to have "civil unions" and that gay people "are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or made miserable over it".

"It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex," it was announced.

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Gay Marriage Becomes Legal In California. Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director of Catholic LGBTQ+ group New Ways Ministry, said the Vatican's statement was "not surprising, but still disappointing".

Multiple people have also called the Catholic Church out for failing to accept same-sex unions.

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