Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, has once more discussed the church’s support for same-sex unions.
A letter to a group of cardinals contained Pope Francis’ position.
Because God “cannot bless sin,” the Vatican ruled in 2021 that the Catholic Church would not permit gay marriages.
In order to clarify this, some cardinals had written to the pontiff.
Pope Francis stated in the letter on Monday that a blessing was a request for God’s assistance in leading a better life, even under circumstances that were “not morally acceptable”.
Because the church’s life “runs on channels beyond norms,” Pope Francis indicated that blessing gay couples should not become a general rule but rather be determined on a case-by-case basis.
The Church has a very clear definition of marriage, he wrote, defining it as an exclusive, stable, and irrevocable connection between a man and a woman that is inherently conducive to conception.
Only this connection has the right to be termed marriage. Other types of union only partially and analogously realise it, thus they cannot strictly be referred to be marriage.
“As a result, the Church avoids any ritual or sacrament that would run counter to this belief and imply that something other than marriage is accepted as marriage.
“However, we must not lose the pastoral charity in our interactions with individuals, which ought to guide all of our choices and attitudes.
“This charity comprises kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement in addition to the defending of factual truth. As a result, we cannot act as judges who solely exclude, reject, and deny.
“Pastoral prudence must effectively determine whether there are blessing requests made by one or more people that do not reflect an incorrect understanding of marriage.
“Decisions that, in specific situations, may be considered pastorally prudent should not always become the norm. Not everything that involves using practical discernment in a given situation qualifies as a rule.
“Canon law should not, and cannot, apply to every aspect of church life because there are numerous, non-normative channels through which it flows.”
