Monumental shift or mixed bag? Pope allows same-sex blessings.

When Pope Francis became the first person from the Americas to lead the Catholic Church a decade ago, he immediately began to emphasize the pastoral ministries of the church over what could be seen as a dogmatic insistence on the purity of its teachings.

That was the emphasis of his predecessor, Pope Benedict, a theologian and specialist in church doctrine. He believed the Catholic church must stand boldly against moral relativism or cultural change that might compromise the integrity of its immutable teachings.

So the newly elected Pope Francis immediately startled observers around the world in 2013 when he told a group of reporters, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”

Since then, his papacy has been defined by an unprecedented effort to expand the reach of the church’s pastoral ministries, including, and perhaps especially, the divorced, gay and lesbian couples, and transgender people. 

This week, Francis again startled Catholics with what may be his boldest pronouncement yet to couples in “irregular situations” or of the same sex. In a declaration Monday, the Vatican for the first time said that priests were permitted to bestow a simple blessing upon such couples, in certain contexts.

“For, those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection,” the declaration read.

The declaration “represents a monumental shift” in the Catholic church, says Darby DeJarnette, manager of operations and mission services at DignityUSA, a group that advocates for the full equality of LGBTQ+ Catholics. “A blessing conferred on a same-sex relationship is a step forward – perhaps a half step – but it will be a great comfort to same-sex couples who wish to receive some sort of recognition from their religious community.”

It is also something of a “mixed bag,” she says, given how much the Vatican emphasized what priests were not permitted to do during such blessings.

According to the declaration, a priest can never use an official church rite to convey a blessing on a same-sex couple. He cannot wear liturgical vestments or make the blessing ceremonial in any way. 

Furthermore, “this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them,” the declaration said. Church dioceses, too, should never establish any pattern or create a particular blessing rite specifically for same-sex blessings. 

“For some LGBTQ Catholics, this is not going to be enough, and this is not an affirmation,” says Julie Byrne, professor of Catholic studies at Hofstra University. “But I was very surprised. It was a couple more steps further than what I expected the next step would be. I think it’s a surprisingly big step toward hospitality, toward welcoming and making LGBTQ Catholics, their families, and allies, more comfortable in church spaces.”

In many ways, the declaration simply clarified the church’s teachings about the meaning of priestly blessings, and the many contexts in which they occur. Apart from those conveyed in sacramental ministries, there are also spontaneous and less formal requests for a blessing, such as at shrines or even just on the street. Priests also bless new homes or other property quite often.

Priests convey blessings “so that human relationships may mature and grow in fidelity to the Gospel, that they may be freed from their imperfections and frailties, and that they may express themselves in the ever-increasing dimension of the divine love,” the Vatican said. 

Those who seek such blessings “do not claim a legitimation of their own status,” the declaration reads. Rather, they “beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit.”

The declaration insisted that such blessings do not affirm or legitimize what the church has long considered sinful. Marriage is not only one of its seven sacraments, it is also a pillar of a Catholic understanding of God’s purposes in creation. Human beings, created by God as male and female, unite as one flesh for the purpose of reflecting God’s love and embracing its procreative potential.

Yet according to Catholic teaching it is not a sin to have a gay or lesbian sexual orientation. Unlike many Evangelical Protestants, Catholics do not consider homosexuality a defect. Homosexual activity, however, is considered “intrinsically disordered,” so gay and lesbian people must remain celibate. Any kind of sexual activity outside the specific confines of a holy marriage between a man and a woman is considered a sin.

“Even when a person’s relationship with God is clouded by sin, he can always ask for a blessing, stretching out his hand to God,” the document said. “Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it.” 

Many conservatives reacted with alarm. “The Vatican’s statement is, in my view, the most unfortunate public announcement in decades,” said Ulrich Lehner, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, in an emailed statement. “Its imprecise language invites misunderstanding and will sow confusion. Moreover, some bishops will use it as a pretext to do what the document explicitly forbids, especially since the Vatican has not stopped them before. It is – and I hate to say it – an invitation to schism.”

Earlier this year, Catholic bishops in Germany voted to allow the blessing of same-sex couples. A number of priests in the city of Cologne blessed same-sex couples outside the Catholic cathedral as an act of defiance against their diocese’s conservative archbishop, who said it was impermissible.

Conservative bishops sent Francis a letter, asking him to clarify the Vatican’s position on a series of theological questions surrounding the issue. 

Francis responded that it could be permissible to bless same-sex couples – and this week’s declaration expanded on some of the points that have become the hallmark of his decadelong papacy.

“In our dealings with people, we must not lose pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes,” he told the German bishops.

“The defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity; it also includes kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement,” he continued. “Therefore, we cannot become judges who only deny, reject, and exclude.”