Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.
The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage.
The new document repeats that rationale and elaborates on it, reaffirming that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. And it stresses that blessings should not be conferred at the same time as a civil union, using set rituals or even with the clothing and gestures that belong in a wedding.
But it says requests for such blessings should not be denied full stop. It offers an extensive definition of the term “blessing” in Scripture to insist that people seeking a transcendent relationship with God and looking for his love and mercy should not be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” as a precondition for receiving it.
I agree, it’s scary. I attribute it to parents who tell their kids they shouldn’t do something “because God said so,” and never any other reason. They never try to reason out what’s moral or not, they just memorize the list.
I have a friend who’s the nicest guy ever. He’s also 6’5" and completely ripped. A lot of years ago, I was telling him about my transition from devout Catholic to atheist, and at one point I told him I realized if you could prove to me there was a god, I wouldn’t live my life differently than if you could prove there was; I have beliefs of what’s right and what’s wrong, and I try to behave accordingly, regardless of any deity. That confused him and I didn’t understand his confusion. I finally said, okay, if I proved to you there wasn’t a god, what would you go differently? He thought for a minute, then said, “Well, I might kill someone.”
There are few times in my life that I’ve been speechless, but that was one. I didn’t know how to move forward from there. I just hope his faith is never shaken.