Uproar after the Vatican says the Catholic church won’t bless same-sex marriages

The Vatican has sparked fury among LGBTQ+ campaigners after it ruled that the Catholic church cannot bless same-sex marriages because God “does not and cannot bless sin”.

The ruling by the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was approved by Pope Francis, came after they were asked a question on the matter in February.

The response from the offices was “negative”.

“Since blessings on persons are in relationship with the sacraments, the blessing of homosexual unions cannot be considered licit. 

“This is because they would constitute a certain imitation or analogue of the nuptial blessing invoked on the man and woman united in the sacrament of Matrimony, while in fact ‘there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family’.

“The Church recalls that God Himself never ceases to bless each of His pilgrim children in this world … but he does not and cannot bless sin,” it reads.

The decision has been met with outrage from users online, who were quick to remind LGBTQ+ couples about the validity of their relationships:

Many have also referenced the historic sexual abuse charges that have long been associated with the Catholic Church. In 2019, the Pope abolished the ‘pontificial secrecy’ rule in regards to sexual abuse cases, with the Vatican’s most experienced sexual abuse investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, describing it as an “epochal decision”.

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