U.S. Catholics Roundly Condemn Vatican Ban on Blessing Same-Gender Couples
Catholic advocates for LGBTQ equality have reacted strongly against the Vatican’s response ad dubium yesterday in which it banned the blessing of same-gender unions.
Robert Shine is the Associate Director of New Ways Ministry, where he has served since 2012. He is the Managing Editor for Bondings 2.0, a daily blog of LGBTQ Catholic news, opinion, and spirituality. Bob has degrees in theology from The Catholic University of America and the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
Catholic advocates for LGBTQ equality have reacted strongly against the Vatican’s response ad dubium yesterday in which it banned the blessing of same-gender unions.
With each passing hour it seems, news breaks about another church leader or Catholic group offering their thoughts about the Vatican’s responsum earlier this week that banned blessings for same-gender unions. While much of the commentary has been condemnatory of the Vatican’s action, some ranking church leaders have come to its defense.
Bishops in Belgium have affirmed a member of their episcopate who expressed his disagreement with the Vatican over church blessings for same-gender couples, which Rome banned on Monday. Meanwhile, in Germany, support for LGBTQ inclusion continues to grow, too.
In response to the Vatican’s responsum on blessing same-gender unions this week, nearly 1,000 pastoral ministers in Germany, as well as other Catholics, have signed a letter in support of such blessings. Elsewhere in the country, bishops and priests are raising objections to the ban at an increasing pace.
A group of reform-minded Austrian priests have issued the strongest critique yet of the Vatican’s ban on blessing same-gender unions, published Monday by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
A top U.S. cardinal, Elton John, and LGBTQ Catholics worldwide are all weighing in on the Vatican’s recent ban on blessings for same-gender unions, often with negative appraisals about an action causing much harm.
A top German bishop has expressed his disappointed with the Vatican’s recent statement banning the blessing of same-gender unions, suggesting the question is not settled.
Catholics worldwide are calling on the Vatican to intervene in Ghana, where the nation’s bishops have taken stridently anti-LGBTQ positions, and were even involved with the closing of an LGBTQ center.
Some bishops in Brazil have criticized an ecumenical campaign in which the nation’s episcopal conference is involved over the inclusion of LGBTQ issues in campaign materials.
The Catholic bishops have lost an ally in their fight to keep religiously-affiliated adoption and foster agencies from being LGBTQ-inclusive. Meanwhile, some Catholics are pushing for the Biden administration to enforce regulations that would require such agencies to not discriminate.
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