French Priest Says Pope Francis Approved Blessing Gay Couples

Fr. Daniel Duigou, right, being interviewed for French television

A French priest has claimed that, in a private meeting, Pope Francis approved of the priest’s work blessing same-gender couples.

Fr. Daniel Duigou made his comments in a televised interview with Konbini News. Duigou said he had a 45-minute meeting with the pope, adding there was “no problem” between the men. Of the conversation’s content, he said:

“Immediately [the pope’s] first question was: ‘So, do you bless the divorced and remarried?’, which is one of the great questions today in the Church. . .And I say to him: ‘And I listen, and I bless them and I also bless homosexual couples.’ And he answers: ‘Yes, because blessing means God thinks of the good of the [human person] and God thinks well of [all people].'”

Asked by the interviewer to confirm this means Pope Francis supports blessing same-gender couples, Duigou replied, “Yes, absolutely.” The priest also clarified that blessings are not about marriage, and referenced the pope’s “Who am I to judge?” remark as evidence of Francis’ more pastoral approach toward lesbian and gay people.

Duigou recently published a book that is a follow-up to his meeting with the pope, titled Lettre Ouverte d’un Curé au Pape François (An Open Letter from a Priest to Pope Francis). The book is a treatise on reforming and renewing the Catholic Church. In one spot, Duigou wrote to the pope:

“You are already doing a lot for the Church of tomorrow. The increasing number of resistance at all levels of the institutions proves it! The important thing is for the Church to start again. How? As for Saint-Merry [Duigou’s parish], it is a question of returning to the time of experimentation, apart from any clerical logic. . .Change is the responsibility of the whole people of God.”

The priest also suggests that the laity be given more space, that pastoral letters should bedecided on by priests and laity, men and women together, and that the role of the priest be redefined such that he is simply a faithful among the faithful.

Like previous reports on conversations with Francis, it is nearly impossible to verify Duigou’s claims. The Vatican tends to not comment on private meetings, and the pope has has never public statement in support of blessing same-gender couples.

That said, the idea of extending blessings to all people seems consistent with Francis’ papacy. Indeed, Pope Francis may have quietly provided his own blessing for a same-gender couple last year when a letter was sent to a gay couple on the the occasion of the baptisms of their adopted children. In 2015, he received Bishop Jacques Gaillot who had been removed by Pope John Paul II from the French diocese he oversaw, in part because he blessed a same-gender couple.

What is clear is that, once again, Pope Francis and other church leaders have left the people of God in a one-sided conversation.  If Pope Francis did make the statement that Duigou reported,  then the pontiffshould have the courage to proclaim publicly what he affirms in private. LGBT ministry should no longer be done  in the shadows, but in the light of honesty and authenticity. That applies for the pope, too.

Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, April 10, 2018

5 replies
  1. Paula Ruddy
    Paula Ruddy says:

    Wow, Bob, are you complaining that Pope Francis does not have courage? What is a blessing? What is the priest’s role in giving blessings? Why does anyone need one?

    Reply
  2. Tom Bower
    Tom Bower says:

    Indeed! Indeed! The days of a wink and a nod Catholicism should be long gone in all arenas. If the Church calls for LGBT individuals to be treated with care and respect, why can bishops still fire LGBT individuals who are in a civil marriage and working in the Church? Separate but equal, as the US has found, does not respect the human rights of anyone. Pope Francis should remove bishops who are hateful and it needs to be done now.

    We have seen how the protection of sex abusing priests by the hierarchy harmed the Church, do we want to wait for some future day when the act of harming homosexual people is revealed for the sin it is? This will need to be included with the whole host of gender based lack of equality. The Church has long since passed the time when it could say we did not know.

    Reply
  3. Bishop Carlos Florido, osf
    Bishop Carlos Florido, osf says:

    Not surprising, as marriage is a blessing and nothing else. There is no evidence that Jesus–the sacrament of God–instituted marriage as a sacrament.

    Reply
  4. Friends
    Friends says:

    Truly, there is too much ambiguity in this story — but the ambiguity is also multilateral. Pope Francis is famous (and hopefully not infamous) for tailoring his pastoral comments to the particular life conditions and the specific needs and concerns of whatever audience he’s addressing. He’s been doing it throughout his Papacy. It’s one of his notable pastoral habits. That said, we frankly don’t know if Duigou has his own agenda, which might prompt him to shade or color — if not to outright misrepresent — his conversation with Pope Francis. It’s an interesting conversation: not demonstrably fake news, but not clearly verifiable Papal opinion either.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *