Madrid Archdiocese Chastises Chapel for Hosting Same-Gender Wedding
Cardinal José Cobo Cano
The Archdiocese of Madrid has criticized a civil marriage ceremony between two men because the ceremony took place in a private Catholic chapel.
The couple held the civil ceremony on February 24th in a Catholic chapel, which is located on a private estate commonly used for weddings. The Catholic Hermitage of the Holy Trinity, where the ceremony was held, is located in the municipality of El Escorial, northwest of Madrid. In a widely shared video of the ceremony, some elements of a typical Catholic liturgy are reportedly present, including kneeling before a Cross and a sculpture of the Virgin Mary, per Our Sunday Visitor.
In response, the office of Madrid’s Cardinal José Cobo Cano issued a statement saying the archdiocese “was neither informed nor consulted about the possibility of carrying out such celebration, being a unilateral act of the estate that will have canonical effects in this regard.” The archdiocesan statement focused on how the chapel was used, explaining:
“In no case is it permitted to perform a civil marriage within a religious enclosure… .[F]amily hermitages can only be used for the purpose granted to them by the Church. They cannot be a place for public religious celebrations, unless expressly authorized by the Bishopric, nor can they be used for commercial purposes or for civil celebrations of any kind.”
Fr. Juan Manuel Góngora posted video of the wedding ceremony to X (formerly Twitter), criticizing it as an act of “irreverence.”
However, many people challenged Góngora. Ester Muñoz, deputy secretary of health and education for the Popular Party, commented:
“I pray for you, father. Because I know that your vision of ‘The Truth’ prevents you from seeing the harm of its publication…if the real objective were the conversion of their souls, the ‘pretended’ ridicule and public judgment would not prevail. As a Catholic I will always be with those who profess love for God, not with those who use him to sow hatred.”
The controversy in Madrid comes amid the Spanish bishops’ mixed reactions to Fiducia Supplicans, the Vatican declaration allowing blessings for same-gender couples. Bondings 2.0 previously reported on generally-negative views of the declaration held by Spanish bishops. During a January meeting of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference’s leadership in Madrid, the bishops released a statement citing their “deep ecclesial communion and adherence” to Pope Francis and his magisterium. At a press conference following the meeting, Bishop César García Magán, auxiliary of Toledo, told reporters that “a document of the Holy See is not commented on” but rather “accepted” and “welcomed in that spirit of communion with the Holy Father.”
Seemingly, the Archbishop of Madrid’s office chose to focus its criticism on the use of the chapel for a civil ceremony, avoiding discussion of the particulars of the ceremony itself or the people involved. Details of the ceremony—or indeed if the grooms were even seeking such a blessing as granted by Fiducia Supplicans—are unavailable. It is noteworthy that the archbishop’s criticism focuses not on the fact that two men were getting married, but rather on their choice and use of a Catholic chapel to do so.
This incident raises questions: who are our sacred spaces for, and who do we allow to feel at home there? Just recently we saw the same questions raised after criticism over a funeral held for a transgender woman in a Catholic church. Debates such as these, where queer participation and use of sacred spaces is criticized, may lead us to a fruitful consideration of how we can make our sacred spaces more welcoming to our queer siblings.
We know in our hearts when a space is not designed with us in mind: whether in terms of accessibility, in the images and artwork that is displayed, or through the ways that we are welcomed to participate in the space. Likewise, we know when we are welcome when we see ourselves represented, considered, and invited to fully participate. When we consider how we position our churches and communities to be places of welcome, let us follow Christ’s exuberant welcome, and not deny anyone from living life in God’s house.
—Phoebe Carstens (they/them), New Ways Ministry, March 18, 2024
In the story of the cure of a paralytic in the Gospel of John (5:18), we can read:
“For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.”
My reading of this verse, along with my reading of MANY verses in the Gospels, show Jesus to be one who courageously and lovingly stepped OUTSIDE rules and convention to heal and reconcile. Should we not do the same, in imitation of Him? “Breaking a rule,” might, in some cases, be exactly what is required of us to truly follow the Christ!