The Vatican went into evolution last month after growing opposition among African bishops over Pope Francis’ permission to bless Catholic priests for same-sex couples.
According to Vatican News, the Vatican’s state-run media, the Vatican’s Ministry of Faith released a statement on the 4th (local time) saying, “The blessings of same-sex couples do not justify all their actions or support their lives.” Therefore, he stressed that blessings for same-sex couples should not be considered heresy, unlike church traditions and blasphemy.
The latest incident occurred last month when Pope Francis granted same-sex couples “everyday blessings.” Pope Francis took a step back from his previous stance, which strictly prohibited same-sex and abnormal couples, saying in a doctrinal declaration titled “Catholic weddings are a form that is not confused with blessings that are appropriate for marriage.”
For centuries, the Vatican has opposed same-sex marriage, calling it an inseparable union between men and women. In 2021, he said, “Same-sex marriage cannot bless same-sex couples because it undermines the church’s doctrine of acknowledging only marriage between men and women,” but his position changed in two years.
The Vatican’s change of stance was welcomed by LGBTQ Catholics but met strong opposition from some countries. In particular, there was a lot of opposition from Africa. In Africa, more than half of countries treat homosexuality as a crime. Uganda enacted a law in May last year that allows homosexuals to be put to maximum death penalty. Burundi’s President Evariste Dami declared last week that anyone who turns out to be gay should go on dialysis.
The ministry acknowledged that same-sex couples’ blessings can be reckless in places where they can be tortured, imprisoned, or even put to death for being homosexuals, but said that they cannot be completely banned. “We are talking about something that lasts about 10 or 15 seconds,” the ministry said. “Is it reasonable to deny these kinds of blessings to two people who ask for blessings?”
But the series of steps shows that the move, among many progressive steps taken by Pope Francis, is not easily accepted by the Catholic community. It is interpreted that the Pope has ignored his apparent opposition to homosexuality in both the Old and New Testament. Reuters pointed out that the Vatican’s statement of explanation less than two weeks after issuing the declaration on the 18th of last month shows how much chaos the blessing of same-sex couples has caused in many countries.
SALLY
ASIA JOURNAL
