Pope Francis on Monday, 18 December, allowed roman catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, however with a condition: it shouldn't resemble marriage.
The development comes after the Vatican’s doctrine office released a document elaborating on a letter sent by Francis to two cardinals, reported AP.
In the letter, Francis stated that a same-sex couple can be administered blessings if their union is not confused with the sacrament of marriage.
It is precisely in this context, that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage," the document stated, reported The New York Times.
AP further cited the new document stating that “irregular” unions — gay or straight — are in a state of sin. However, they shouldn't be deprived of God’s love or mercy.
“Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it,” the document added.
However, in his letter, Francis upheld that matrimony is a union between a man and a woman.
The declaration also somewhat reverses a Vatican declaration from 2021 which said that the church can't bless same-sex unions because “God cannot bless sin.”
(With inputs from AP and The New York Times.)
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