The Vatican’s doctrinal office on Monday clarified that the Catholic Church does not have the power to give liturgical blessings of homosexual unions.
Answering the question, “does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex,” the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded, “negative.”
In an accompanying note, the doctrine office explained that blessings are sacramentals, and “consequently, in order to conform with the nature of sacramentals, when a blessing is invoked on particular human relationships, in addition to the right intention of those who participate, it is necessary that what is blessed be objectively and positively ordered to receive and express grace, according to the designs of God inscribed in creation, and fully revealed by Christ the Lord.”
“Therefore, only those realities which are in themselves ordered to serve those ends are congruent with the essence of the blessing imparted by the Church,” the CDF said.
The ruling and note were approved for publication by Pope Francis and signed by CDF prefect Cardinal Luis Ladaria and secretary Archbishop Giacomo Morandi….
The above comes from a March 15 story on the site of the Catholic News Agency.
I am thankful for this correct response, especially for it having been issued with the express approval of Pope Francis. The usual suspects: among the Jesuits, women religious and fellow Catholics are throwing hissy fits, which is to be expected. Already, though, some are speculating that this is Pope Francis’ way of placating faithful Catholics while intending not to intervene nor punish if priests or bishops take it upon themselves, locally, to (continue to) bless same-sex unions. It will be the “Amoris Laetitia-izing” of gay marriage in the Church: officially, on the books, it’s prohibited, but in some regions it will be permitted and the Holy See will keep quiet about it while aware that it is occurring.
Nevertheless, anyone who supports same-sex marriage or the blessing same-sex unions, is not a faithful Catholic.
I fear that you are exactly correct. It’s the usual “non-denial denial” similar to the way Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium seemed to support retaining Latin, while granting the right to switch to the vernacular in the very next sentence.
Kevin T – Agreed! The waters get very murky, though, when we realize that the Vatican’s Finance Minister in 2019 invested in a couple of movies to the tune of $4.5 million, one of which was “Rocketman”, an homage to Elton John. That those monies came from worldwide Peter’s Pence collections is a slap in the face to the Catholic faithful, especially given Elton John’s gender proclivities. It’s no wonder we Catholics are left shaking our heads and our fists at the hypocrisy of the Holy See.
Sadly, I think you are right, Kevin T.!! Yes, though we can all be thankful for this recent statement by the CDF– the Vatican truthfully is duplicitous and hypocritical! Plus, the Vatican is now in a scandal for using Peter’s Pence collections to invest and make money off of evil Hollywood films, including those containing homosexuality– such as a notorious film celebrating the “gay marriage” of Elton John. The Vatican should preach, teach, and exemplify the Virtue of Chastity! As Our Lady of Fatima warned, “more souls go to Hell for sexual sins than for any other.” I think the Vatican needs to work hard on purification of sin in the world, supporting all to become more Christ-like and pure, and better-prepared for entering Heaven, someday! They should find better endeavors financially, than investing in and supporting filthy movies, with our Peter’s Pence collections! We need their old Legion of Decency, badly!
I like that the rationale given for the negative answer is that the reason same-sex unions cannot be blessed is that God doesn’t bless sin. Bam!
But already one particularly egregiously dissident woman religious who has been censured by the CDF and the USCCB is trying to find loopholes. She has stated that although it is not permissible to bless a same-sex union, as such, there is nothing in the instruction that prohibits blessing individuals in a same-sex union “as their committed selves.” Can you believe it? So in this woman’s mind, you can “get around” the prohibition of blessing unions by blessing individuals whom everyone present knows are in a union, and bless them individually as “committed selves,” and everyone will wink and understand that you’re blessing them because of and for their union while technically not blessing the union itself. The things sinful, dissident Catholics will come up with to continue worshipping at the altar of sodomy!
This may be why they closed the side altars-to prevent desecration by priests or laity who were mad about this.
I am grateful for this clear restatement of Christian sexual morality.
This would seem to apply also to those of the “opposite” sexes who are engaged in sexual behavior which belongs only in the context of (one man & one woman) marriage.
As the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with Pope Francis’s approval, stated, God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognize that he is part of His plan of love and allow himself to be changed by Him. He in fact ‘takes us as we are, but never leaves us as we are’.”
We are all, including those of us who are married, called to chastity, in one way or another.
Absolutely correct. It’s really a matter of clear and sound Catechesis. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, by its very title, is a give away that Marriage in the eyes of the Church and God is a Sacrament. The definition of a Sacrament is: an outward sign, instituted by God, to confer Grace. A Sacrament needs to have precise components to be valid; 1} valid matter-in this case a biological man and a woman 2} Intention-correct understanding of the Sacrament about to be received 3} Form-Priest is the official Witness of the Church who administers the Sacrament-the couple marries each other. This same formula is present in all 7 Sacraments to be valid. Matter, Form, and Intention. Knowing and understanding this important Catechism guides the Faithful on their earthly sojourn to Heaven.
God bless you, Deacon Anderson, for your great post, but as we know there will always those who keep on “beating a dead horse” as those who keep wanting female priestesses do after St. John Paul II close that door. They look for “loopholes” where there are none.
I pray for the deeper understanding of those who do not understand and the repentance of the guilty.
Correction to my last post second line: “after St. John Paul II closed that door”.
Correction to third line: “I pray for the correct understanding of those who do not understand”.
Why haven’t the frequent lefties on this website commented on this article?
Maybe they are so outraged that their tiny fingers won’t work?
Let’s connect some dots logically: the stance of the Holy See is that homosexual unions cannot be blessed by the Church because God does not and cannot bless sin, the sin of sexual activity outside natural or sacramental marriage. Let us then infer that any “ministry” that accepts homosexual unions or promotes them is accepting and promoting sin. Let us further infer that God does not and cannot tolerate those “ministries” because of their support for sin. Let us finally infer that people in charge of such “ministries” are contradicting the will of God. James Martin and all the rest.
You’ve seen his twitter?
It’s appalling
What everyone seems to miss – and by everyone I mean commentators and journalists and people from the left and people from the right is this: the dubium is about a sacramental not a sacrament. And I’m not sure about a theology that requires the blessed “thing” be sin-free. I wonder if the dogs and their human companions we bless and on October 4 are sin free.
Individuals can be blessed even if not sin-free.
Well you can always count on YFC to defend mortal sin, what he doesn’t understand that once blessings are given to sodomite marriage then it will open the door to what they really want: sacramental gay marriage.
Well, well, well, bohemond. I will give you this. You are nothing if not consistent. You don’t comment on the content of my comment, you use it as an opportunity to make a personal jab.
I doubt I will ever live to see sacramental marriage between two people of the same sex. I don’t pray for it, I don’t work for it. Then again, I never thought I’d see civil marriage between two people of the same sex, and yet here we are, almost 6 years after a Republican-led SCOTUS granted it nationwide, probably 10+ years since Canada achieved it, and as recently as this week, even Japan has it.
I hope I live to a ripe old age. I hope you do too bohemond. Let’s meet in Antioch.
Penzey’s Spice Company is selling their Jerk seasoning 1/2 off in honor of the Pope being a jerk. You mentioned once that you had a hard time talking to your gay friends about the Church and after reading what Penzey’s sent out I see why.
People who are not Catholic and even people who are, don’t take the time to really understand. Just more outrage. Seek first to understand…
The Church did not say that gay people’s existence is a sin. It never has and it never will.
I read another commentary where a man said he was still reeling from the news. What news? Nothing has changed in 2000 years. It is possible that someone might have been misleading them, though.
It is not a secret that some Catholic priests or deacons might have been doing that.
Wut?
Those were two examples of people who have reacted strongly to this Vatican pronouncement. Catholics would wonder why because nothing has changed. But we know that some defiant priests were blessing gay unions. Some have said they will continue doing so even now.
So a gay person or a gay couple who is being counseled or otherwise (mis)led by a priest like that might be shocked by the announcement.
Why do LGBT people have to respond to a person who you call Penzey? I’m just wondering because y’all look quite silly.
Put it this way:
There can be a blessing for doctors but not for prostitutes.
There can be a blessing for police but not for thieves.
There can be a blessing for firefighters but not for arsonists.
There can be a blessing for teachers but not for pornographers.
There can be a blessing for soldiers but not for terrorists.
There can be a blessing for politicians but not for counterfeiters.
If you understand why the former occupations may be blessed but not the latter, then you should be able to understand why marriages may be blessed but not same-sex unions. Hint: it has to do with something being ordered toward the good and not having a grave moral defect.
Oh Kevin. You can’t compare a person’s choice in occupation to being gay. The latter is not a choice.
Oh, Annie, the evidence does not support your “born that way” claim. The relevant point is that people choose to be in a union and that some unions are good whereas others are not. Namely, marriage is good but same-sex unions are not. That’s why the church cannot bless same-sex unions. The people who choose to enter into such unions are not choosing a good thing; they are choosing a sinful thing.
Oh Anne, you really cannot believe that homosexuals are powerless to resist the urge to sin, can you?
As the Church has always taught, homosexuality is an aberration – a perversion of the true nature of our sexuality.
But merely have a predilection to evil is not in itself evil. We are all born with a predilection to do evil.
It is of course the intentional ACTION to do evil that condemns us.
So yes, a decision to commit mortal sin (of any kind) and the action of following through on that decision, is indeed a choice that condemns us to eternity in Hell.
Make no mistake: to die with unabsolved mortal sins on our souls is to freely enter into the eternal lake of fire.
Well it’s not innate Annie G! What would you call it? A disordered orientation?
“The answer to the proposed dubium does not preclude the blessings given to individual persons with homosexual inclinations [10], who manifest the will to live in fidelity to the revealed plans of God as proposed by the Church teaching.” From the Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith to a dubium regarding the blessing of the unions of person of the same sex, 15.03.2021
I would wish to see your daughter marry a gay guy because, as you claim, it is more “ordered”. Except I wouldn’t wish that on you or her. Trust me, it leads to a whole bunch of disorder. Attorneys. Anullments. Agony.
A gay Catholic who does not wish to marry or be a priest, either through self-discernment or obedience, is called to live a life of holiness devoted to God.
The same is true of heterosexuals.
Marriage is the most difficult of the vocations. Temptation to sexual sin exist even in marriage which a good Catholic must resist.
There is no escaping the Cross. Even if you choose to reject the faith or parts of it and do your own will, you will still encounter the Cross.
The Cross is easier to bear when you are bearing it with and for Christ then because of your own self-will.
I have been to too many funerals lately. Mostly non Catholics. And the universal hymn is the sappy “how great thou art”. Then I come home to my prayer life and all I hear you all saying is “how great I am”. How great you are all.
No YFC we just admit that we are sinners, we don’t demand the Church to bless our sins.
You hear people in your head from this combox in your prayers?
Well, when we follow Christ we are sons and daughters of a King. Christ the King, and Mary the Queen Mother. Through the grace of God and the intercessions of the saints, we should act like sons and daughters of a king. That does not necessarily mean rich clothing but noble character. That is for what we should strive – noble character. That is true nobility.
I will never forget when a priest, may he rest in peace, first called me Daughter of God. It really made me think about what I do, and how I should act.