Pope Francis has formally approved catholic priests to officiate same-sex marriages. The move was applauded by LGBTQ+ advocates as historic.
The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office released Monday reaffirmed its previous statements saying marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman. But the document says requests for blessings from same-sex couples should not be denied, so long as the blessing is not conferred at the same time as a civil union, using set rituals or with the clothing and gestures that are part of a wedding.
The document, however, offers an extensive definition of the term “blessing” in Scripture to insist 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 means to increase their trust in God,” the document said. “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.”
It adds: “It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.”
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis called Monday’s announcement “the latest in a historic pattern of actions and announcements from Pope Francis which show that LGBTQ people should not be used as a dividing issue, and we are worthy of love, respect and compassion.”
