Same-sex marriage is sinful and cannot be blessed by the catholic church – Vatican decrees

The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response on Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions.

The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was “negative”.

According to the decree, the church welcomes gay people on humanitarian grounds but does not endorse their unions because it is in variance with God’s plan.

The Vatican holds that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect, but that gay sex is “intrinsically disordered”. Catholic teaching says that marriage between a man and woman is part of God’s plan and is intended for the sake of creating new life, so anything which goes contrary to that is unacceptable by the church.

“The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan,” the response said.

God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognise that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him,” it said.

Pope Francis advocated for legal protection for same-sex couples during an interview with a Mexican television station, Televisa, in 2019.

However, the Vatican said the Catholic church leader’s comment was in reference to the civil sphere.

Same-sex marriage is sinful and cannot be blessed by the catholic church – Vatican decrees

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