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Pope Francis permits priests to bless same-sex union

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Pope Francis formally permitted Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples on Monday, in a significant shift in Vatican doctrine.


The blessings may be carried out providing they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies, nor at the same time as a civil union, according to a Vatican document approved by the pope.


The latest ruling fleshes out the opening the pope made to blessing same-sex couples last October and marks a shift away from a 2021 ruling from the Vatican doctrine office which barred any blessings saying God “cannot bless sin.”


But since July 2023, the doctrine department has been led by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, an Argentinian prelate and ally of Francis, who has stuck a different tone to his predecessors.



“When people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it,” the declaration, authored by Cardinal Fernandez and another official, states. “The grace of God works in the lives of those who do not claim to be righteous but who acknowledge themselves humbly as sinners, like everyone else.”


The new ruling says it is opening “the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex” although says it is leaving decisions to “the prudent and fatherly discernment of ordained ministers.”


James Martin, a Jesuit priest who ministers to gay Catholics, described the latest move as a “major step forward in the church’s ministry to LGBTQ people,” writing on X that it “recognizes the deep desire in many Catholic same-sex couples for God’s presence in their loving relationships.”


The pope’s attempts to shift the church’s approach to LGBTQ Catholics began in 2013, when, in reply to a reporter’s question about gay clergy, he said: “Who am I to judge?”


Francis has indicated his support for the civil recognition of same-sex couples and sought to move the Vatican away from some of the harsh language it has used in the past about gay people.


The pope has also offered his support to a nun from the United States, Jeanine Gramick, who has ministered to gay Catholics for years. She had previously been censured by the Vatican but recently met with Francis, who described her as a “valiant woman.”


While the pope has not changed the church’s opposition to gay marriage nor has he changed Catholic sexual teachings, he has sought to emphasise a pastoral and sensitive approach, which is having a significant impact on LGBTQ Catholics.


Source: CNN



教宗方濟各允許神父祝福同性結合


教宗方濟各週一正式允許羅馬天主教神父祝福同性伴侶,這是梵蒂岡教義的重大轉變。


根據教宗批准的梵蒂岡文件,只要不屬於常規教會儀式或禮拜儀式的一部分,也不與民事結合同時進行,就可以進行祝福。


最新的裁決充實了教宗去年 10 月為祝福同性伴侶而做出的開放,並標誌著梵蒂岡教義辦公室 2021 年裁決的轉變,該裁決禁止任何祝福,稱上帝「不能祝福罪惡」。



但自 2023 年 7 月以來,教義部門一直由阿根廷主教、方濟各的盟友、紅衣主教維克多·曼努埃爾·費爾南德斯 (Victor Manuel Fernandez) 領導,他的基調與前任不同。


這份由紅衣主教費爾南德斯和另一位官員撰寫的宣言指出, “當人們祈求祝福時,不應將詳盡的道德分析作為給予祝福的先決條件。” “上帝的恩典在那些不自稱是正義的人的生活中發揮作用,但他們像其他人一樣謙卑地承認自己是罪人。”


新裁決表示,它為“情況不正常的夫婦和同性夫婦提供了祝福的可能性”,儘管它表示,它將把決定權留給“被任命的牧師的謹慎和慈父般的洞察力”。


為同性戀天主教徒服務的耶穌會神父詹姆斯·馬丁(James Martin) 將這一最新舉措描述為“教會在向LGBTQ 人群服務方面邁出的重要一步”,並在X 上寫道,它“認識到許多天主教同性伴侶對上帝的眷顧的深切渴望」。存在於他們的愛情關係中。”


教宗從 2013 年開始嘗試改變教會對待 LGBTQ 天主教徒的態度,當時,在回答記者關於同性戀神職人員的問題時,他說: “我有什麼資格評判誰?”

方濟各表示支持對同性伴侶的民事承認,並試圖讓梵蒂岡擺脫過去對同性戀者使用的一些嚴厲語言。


教宗也向來自美國的修女珍妮·格拉米克表示支持,她多年來一直為同性戀天主教徒服務。 她此前曾受到梵蒂岡的譴責,但最近會見了方濟各,方濟各稱她為“勇敢的女性”。


雖然教宗沒有改變教會對同性婚姻的反對,也沒有改變天主教的性教義,但他試圖強調一種田園和敏感的方法,這對 LGBTQ 天主教徒產生了重大影響。

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