SAME-SEX UNION APPROVED?

Rev. Fr. David Okolie

Dearest friends, a number of media outlets on December 18, 2023 carried questionable headlines that leaves a number of Christians CONFUSED regarding the Catholic Church and the same-sex UNION. Some said that the Pope has approved same-sex union, others said that the Pope has mandated priests to bless same-sex UNIONS, etc.

Well, in the face of such media confusion, we have the obligation to help us understand what exactly the Church has said.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith (DDF) just published a document (entitled: Fiducia Supplicans ‘On the Pastoral meaning of Blessings’) with the approval of Pope Francis in which they clarified a number of questions concerning SAME-SEX and BLESSINGS.

Now, without bothering you with a lot of Theological terms contained in the document, let me make the presentation as simple as possible:

👉🏼 The document reaffirmed that what the Catholic Church understands as MARRIAGE is only the indissoluble union between a MAN and a WOMAN which is open to procreation (n. 4).

It went on to say that the Church does NOT have the power to bless UNION of persons of the same sex (n. 5). Note that the emphasis here is UNION. The reason is that such UNION is SINFUL because it is contrary to Matrimony. Thus, ‘God cannot bless SIN’ (cf. the earlier document of February 22, 2021).

However, having explained different meaning of BLESSING, it says that a blessing that seeks to make one better and to know the truth can be imparted to persons of the same sex and those in IRREGULAR relationships (e.g: a man and a woman who are living together without Matrimony). The reason being that one who seeks for blessing does not necessarily need to be PERFECT already but that the person through the blessing is seeking for PERFECTION. An example was when Peter entertained doubts and started SINKING in the sea, he called on Jesus Christ to save him and that Jesus did (cf. Matt 14:30).

Finally, to ensure that there is no confusion, the document warned that such blessing should NOT be FORMAL but spontaneous. Again, such blessing does not in any way approve such UNION (n. 40).

I hope the above helps🙏🏼

Remain blessed🙏🏼