Despite previously expressing support for the LGBTQ+ community, Pope Francis has just approved a decree by the Vatican that prohibits priests from blessing same-sex unions.
In a lengthy statement published on Monday, March 15, the Holy See explained that same-sex unions “cannot be recognized as objectively ordered” by God. It even went on to call such unions “illicit” and a “sin.”
“It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage, as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex,” the statement read.
And although the Vatican welcomes the LGBTQ+ community into the Church, it does not want to “approve and encourage a choice and a way of life that cannot be recognized as objectively ordered to the revealed plans of God.”
The Vatican also clarified that “the negative judgment on the blessing of unions of persons of the same sex does not imply a judgment on persons.”
This statement comes as a surprise to most as Pope Francis had seemingly advocated for civil unions between same-sex couples in a documentary that premiered last October 2020.
“Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it,” he had said.
“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” he added.
A month prior to that, the Pope also went viral for declaring in a gathering with an association that fosters the formation of LGBTQ+ Christians and their families, “The church loves your children as they are because they are children of God.”
WhenInManila.com's Associate Editor and Head of Entertainment. A storyteller since 8, but she swears she was a fortune-teller in her past life. When she isn't writing, she plays video games, screams about Formula 1, and does tarot readings as a form of therapy. Find her on Instagram, @reseaseo.
No Blessing of Same-Sex Unions by Catholic Church, Says Vatican in a Statement
Despite previously expressing support for the LGBTQ+ community, Pope Francis has just approved a decree by the Vatican that prohibits priests from blessing same-sex unions.
In a lengthy statement published on Monday, March 15, the Holy See explained that same-sex unions “cannot be recognized as objectively ordered” by God. It even went on to call such unions “illicit” and a “sin.”
“It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage, as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex,” the statement read.
And although the Vatican welcomes the LGBTQ+ community into the Church, it does not want to “approve and encourage a choice and a way of life that cannot be recognized as objectively ordered to the revealed plans of God.”
The Vatican also clarified that “the negative judgment on the blessing of unions of persons of the same sex does not imply a judgment on persons.”
This statement comes as a surprise to most as Pope Francis had seemingly advocated for civil unions between same-sex couples in a documentary that premiered last October 2020.
“Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it,” he had said.
“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” he added.
A month prior to that, the Pope also went viral for declaring in a gathering with an association that fosters the formation of LGBTQ+ Christians and their families, “The church loves your children as they are because they are children of God.”
(ALSO READ: Here’s what Pope Francis thinks about same-sex civil union)
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WhenInManila.com's Associate Editor and Head of Entertainment. A storyteller since 8, but she swears she was a fortune-teller in her past life. When she isn't writing, she plays video games, screams about Formula 1, and does tarot readings as a form of therapy. Find her on Instagram, @reseaseo.