Vatican says blessing same-sex couples is not heresy

The Vatican this Wednesday backed the pope’s recent decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples, insisting it is not “heretical” after opposition from some bishops in Africa, Poland and other countries.

In a five-page statement, the Holy See’s office for the defense of doctrinal orthodoxy said some bishops’ conferences needed more time for “pastoral reflection” about Francis’ formal approval of such blessings.

But “there is no place to doctrinally distance oneself” from the Declaration of Blessings or “consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the Church or blasphemous,” the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said in a statement quoted by the North American Agency Associated Press (AP).

On December 18, the Vatican officially allowed the blessing of same-sex couples “in an irregular situation” within the Church, while maintaining its position against gay marriage.

It was the first time the Church had made such a clear statement about blessing same-sex couples, an issue that has generated tension within the institution due to strong opposition from the conservative sector.

Some bishops responded immediately, saying they would not enforce the new measure.

The statement now released acknowledges that “prudence and attention to the ecclesial context and local culture may allow for different methods of application” of the new rule of blessings, but says there cannot be “a complete or complete rejection of this path that has been announced by the priests.”

He states that in situations where “there are laws condemning imprisonment, and in some cases torture and even death, the mere act of someone declaring themselves homosexual, it is obvious that a blessing would be imprudent” since “bishops do not wish to subject homosexuals to violence.”

However, he considers it “principled” that bishops’ conferences “do not support a doctrine different from the declaration signed by the Pope.”

The bishops’ conferences of Zambia and Malawi have already spoken out against the measure. In Zambia, homosexual sex is punishable by 15 years to life in prison, and in Malawi the law provides for up to 14 years in prison for “homosexual” relations, with the possibility of corporal punishment.

The declaration, signed by Argentine Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, Francis’ theological adviser, states that in some passages “some catechesis will be needed to help understand that this type of blessing does not mean either support for the lives of those who ask for them” or “absolution of sins.” , since such “gestures are far from sacrament or ritual.”

Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has insisted on the importance of a church “open to all” and has taken a series of measures that have angered conservatives.