- In 2021, the Vatican’s doctrinal office determined that Catholic priests cannot bless same-sex unions.
- The response was made at the request for clarification from several dioceses.
- This Tuesday, ignoring that decision, a group of Flemish bishops proposed a blessing ritual that includes a prayer for the stable union of people of the same sex.
In a document made public this Tuesday, September 20, the Flemish Catholic bishops decided to explicitly endorse the blessing of the union of homosexual people, in what is seen as a challenge to the Vatican, which in 2021 issued a sentence against these practices since the doctrinal office.
The document, which became public through the website of the Belgian Episcopal Conferenceproposes a ritual that includes a prayer and a blessing for the stable union of people of the same sex.
It also clarifies that it is not what “the Church understands by sacramental marriage”.
According to the bishops in the text, they intend “to be pastorally close to homosexual people” and to be a “Church that welcomes and does not exclude”.
The suggested ritual It would begin with prayers and would include a commitment by both people to family and friends to be faithful.
It would end with more prayers and what the document calls a “blessing.”
Until this Tuesday first thing in the morning, The Vatican has not commented on the matter.
Background: the Vatican told them not to bless homosexual unions
At the beginning of 2021, responding to formal questions from some Catholic dioceses from different parts of the world who wanted to know if they could bless same-sex unions, the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the so-called “Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith”, determined that No.
At the time, the Vatican said its decision “is not intended as a form of unfair discrimination, but as a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite” of the sacrament of marriage and the blessing associated with it.
In the document, the Flemish bishops say: they want to “give a concrete and substantial response to the desire to pay explicit attention to the situation of homosexual people, their parents and relatives”.
And they add: “Pope Francis has also explicitly expressed it in his document on family ministry Amoris Laetitia April 2016, translated as ‘The joy of love’”.
The initiative, headed by Cardinal Willy Bombeek, aims for each diocese to designate someone to provide pastoral care focused on this ritual.
Regarding the pastoral care of same-sex couples, the Belgian bishops say that some “prefer to live as a couple, in lasting and faithful relationships. They also deserve our recognition and support, because this relationship, even if it is not a religious marriage, can also be a source of shared peace and happiness.”
German bishops, a few weeks ago, advanced in the same direction.
In Infovaticanan ultra-Catholic milieu, criticizes the decision of these bishops saying: “In short, more bishops and cardinals publicly join in disseminating heresies, bad doctrine and confuse souls. If Rome has not acted in Germany, it seems unlikely that it will intervene in Belgium. Meanwhile, the rope continues to be tightened and unity is lacking.”
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