The Vatican clarified that for the doctrine of the Catholic Church, homosexual is “a sin” and that priests cannot bless these unions, in a text released this past Monday by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The institution in charge of preserving Catholic dogma, addressed the issue through a question that many Catholics ask “Does the Church have the power to impart the blessing to unions of people of the same sex?”
The institution’s response was blunt and clear: “It responds negatively.”
In a document signed by Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the congregation, known in the past as the Holy Office of the Inquisition, it is noted that “in some ecclesial environments, projects and proposals for blessings for unions of people of the same sex are being disseminated.”
“It is not lawful to impart a blessing to relationships, or even stable couples, that imply a sexual practice outside of marriage (that is, outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open, by itself, to the transmission of life ), as is the case of unions between people of the same sex”, the text specifies.
Pope’s position
The document recalls that for the Church, “God never stops blessing his children,” but “he does not bless and cannot bless sin,” insists the entity. The text was approved by Pope Francis, whose position on homosexuality is less blunt.
Five months ago, the Pope said in an interview that “homosexual people have the right to be within a family” and that they should have the right to be legally covered, which sparked controversy.
A phrase that provoked the ire of the most conservative sectors, among them several bishops and cardinals and in turn praise from the homosexual defense associations, which considered its opening historic. The Vatican later specified that Francis had not questioned the dogma of marriage between a man and a woman and that he was referring to the laws adopted by the States.
