Blessing LGBTQ+ Couples Is “Real Development” in Church Teaching, Says Vatican

Pope Francis has approved blessing same-gender couples in what the Vatican’s doctrinal office referred to as a “real development” in church teaching, emphasizing now that “God never turns away anyone who approaches him!”

The approval of such blessings was announced Monday in a declaration from the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), entitled Fiducia Supplicans (“On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings”). Much of the declaration is about the theology behind how the church understands blessings. Section III addresses specifically the question of blessing same-gender couples and those in “irregular situations,” like divorced and remarried Catholics.

Blessings for such couples are indeed possible, asserts the Vatican, because God blesses all “who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit.” The aim of blessing a couple is “so that human relationships may mature and grow in fidelity to the Gospel, that they may be freed from their imperfections and frailties, and that they may express themselves in the ever-increasing dimension of the divine love.” The declaration continues:

“Therefore, with its untiring wisdom and motherly care, the Church welcomes all who approach God with humble hearts, accompanying them with those spiritual aids that enable everyone to understand and realize God’s will fully in their existence.

“This is a blessing that, although not included in any liturgical rite, unites intercessory prayer with the invocation of God’s help by those who humbly turn to him. God never turns away anyone who approaches him! Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God. 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 is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered. . .

“[O]ne 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. In a brief prayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance—but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely.”

The declaration does prescribe some limitations. Blessings for couples in irregular situations should not be tied to civil union ceremonies or involve “clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.” And such blessings should not be ritualized in official ways, but remain “spontaneous” and “careful that they should not become a liturgical or semi-liturgical act, similar to a sacrament.”

This warning against ritualization, however, is framed at preserving the freedom of pastoral ministers to accompany as they see fit. Ritualization, the declaration claims, “would subject a gesture of great value in popular piety to excessive control, depriving ministers of freedom and spontaneity in their pastoral accompaniment of people’s lives.” The text continues:

“In this regard, there come to mind the following words of the Holy Father, already quoted in part: ‘Decisions that may be part of pastoral prudence in certain circumstances should not necessarily become a norm. That is to say, it is not appropriate for a Diocese, a Bishops’ Conference, or any other ecclesial structure to constantly and officially establish procedures or rituals for all kinds of matters […]. Canon Law should not and cannot cover everything, nor should the Episcopal Conferences claim to do so with their various documents and protocols, since the life of the Church flows through many channels besides the normative ones.’ Thus Pope Francis recalled that ‘what is part of a practical discernment in particular circumstances cannot be elevated to the level of a rule’ because this ‘would lead to an intolerable casuistry.'”

The declaration names “contexts” in which blessing a same-gender couple might be particularly fitting, like “a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a prayer recited in a group, or during a pilgrimage.” Then, the text concludes Section III by stating that “no further responses should be expected about possible ways to regulate details or practicalities regarding blessings of this type.”

An introductory note from the DDF’s prefect, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, is notable, too, as it claims the declaration is a “real development” in church teaching. Fernández explains the text comes after a period of consultations, including experts and the pope, adding:

“The value of this document, however, is that it offers a specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a liturgical perspective. Such theological reflection, based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis, implies a real development from what has been said about blessings in the Magisterium and the official texts of the Church. This explains why this text has taken on the typology of a ‘Declaration.’ . . .

“This Declaration is also intended as a tribute to the faithful People of God, who worship the Lord with so many gestures of deep trust in his mercy and who, with this confidence, constantly come to seek a blessing from Mother Church.”

New Ways Ministry referred to the declaration as “monumental,” not merely because same-gender couples can receive such blessings, but because of Pope Francis’ exhortation that people not be subjected to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive a sign of God’s love and mercy. Francis DeBernardo, executive director, said in a statement:

“Such a declaration is one more step Pope Francis has taken to overturn the harsh policing of pastoral care all too common under his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVIl. In contrast, Pope Francis desires pastoral care in which, in the declaration’s words, “every brother and every sister will be able to feel that, in the Church, they are always pilgrims, always beggars, always loved, and, despite everything, always blessed.” By opening blessings to same-gender couples, the institutional church now expands the ways that LGBTQ+ Catholics can know God’s love. And this declaration benefits not only the couples blessed, but every queer person and ally who has had a difficult relationship with the church.”

Bondings 2.0 will report on reactions to the Vatican’s declaration in future posts. To receive daily posts on these developments and all the latest Catholic LGBTQ+ news, opinion, and spirituality, subscribe by clicking here.

—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, December 19, 2023