Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith . . . Catholic Church Cannot Give Blessings To Same-Sex Unions

VATICAN CITY (CNA) — The Vatican’s doctrinal office on Monday, March 15 clarified that the Catholic Church does not have the power to give liturgical blessings of homosexual unions.
Answering the question, “does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex,” the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded, “negative.”
In an accompanying note, the doctrinal office explained that blessings are sacramentals, and “consequently, in order to conform with the nature of sacramentals, when a blessing is invoked on particular human relationships, in addition to the right intention of those who participate, it is necessary that what is blessed be objectively and positively ordered to receive and express grace, according to the designs of God inscribed in creation, and fully revealed by Christ the Lord.”
“Therefore, only those realities which are in themselves ordered to serve those ends are congruent with the essence of the blessing imparted by the Church,” the CDF said.
“For this reason, it is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex.”
The ruling and note were approved for publication by Pope Francis and signed by CDF prefect Luis Cardinal Ladaria and secretary Archbishop Giacomo Morandi.
The CDF’s note did not state the origin of the dubium submitted to the doctrinal office, but noted that “in some ecclesial contexts, plans and proposals for blessings of unions of persons of the same sex are being advanced.”
In recent years, German bishops in particular have been increasingly outspoken in demanding “discussions about an opening” towards acceptance of practiced homosexuality and the blessing of homosexual unions in the Church.
Following consultations in Berlin in late 2019, the chairman of the marriage and family commission of the German Bishops’ Conference declared that the German bishops agreed that homosexuality is a “normal form” of human sexual identity.
The topic also plays a central role in one of four forums that constitute the controversial “Synodal Process” underway in Germany.
The CDF explained in 2003 that “the Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions.”
German bishops who have publicly voiced support for the blessing of same-sex unions in the Catholic Church include Reinhard Cardinal Marx of Munich and Freising, Bishop Georg Batzing of Limburg, Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabruck, and Bishop Heinrich Timmerervers of Dresden-Meissen.
Batzing, the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, in December 2020 called for changes to the section on homosexuality in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Expressing openness to blessings of homosexual unions, he said, “we need solutions for this.”
On February 23, Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz defended his support for a book of blessings and rites for homosexual unions. The book followed a May 2020 publication from Austria about how same-sex couples might receive a formal, liturgical blessing. Kohlgraf suggested that Catholics with homosexual inclinations cannot all be expected to live chastely.
The call for liturgical blessings of same-sex unions is part of a wider push by some German bishops to change the Church’s teaching on a number of issues, including on the sacraments of priestly Ordination and marriage.
Catholic News Agency’s German partner agency, CNA Deutsch, reported that Batzing has suggested that the Vatican Synod of Bishops on synodality, scheduled for October 2022, could help implement German “Synodal Way” resolutions not only in Germany, but throughout the Catholic Church.
Bishop Batzing responded to the Vatican’s rejection of blessings for same-sex couples by asserting that there were “no easy answers” to the issue.
Batzing said that the CDF’s response to a question about the possibility of same-sex blessings reflected “the state of Church teaching as expressed in several Roman documents,” reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
He continued: “In Germany and in other parts of the worldwide Church, there have been discussions for some time about the way in which this teaching and doctrinal development in general can be advanced with viable arguments — on the basis of fundamental truths of faith and morals, progressive theological reflection, and also in openness to more recent results of the human sciences and the life situations of people today. There are no easy answers to questions of this kind.”
CNA Deutsch has previously reported that Batzing expressed support for same-sex blessings, saying that “we need solutions for this.”
In his statement, the bishop addressed the impact of the CDF’s intervention on the “Synodal Path,” a multi-year event bringing together German lay people and bishops to discuss four major topics: the way power is exercised in the Church; sexual morality; the priesthood; and the role of women.
Batzing said that the “Synodal Path” was seeking to address “the topic of successful relationships in a comprehensive way that also considers the necessity and the limits of ecclesial doctrinal development.”
He added: “The points of view put forward today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith must and will naturally find their way into these discussions.”
Meanwhile, Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg welcomed the CDF document.
In a March 15 statement, he said: “The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has made it clear that the Church does not have the authority to bless same-sex partnerships. Pope Francis has approved the publication of the document and the accompanying explanations.”
“With the Pope and the members of the Family Synod of 2015, I also underline ‘that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while “every sign of unjust discrimination” is to be carefully avoided’ (Amoris Laetitia, n. 250).”