Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.
The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage.
The new document repeats that rationale and elaborates on it, reaffirming that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. And it stresses that blessings should not be conferred at the same time as a civil union, using set rituals or even with the clothing and gestures that belong in a wedding.
But it says requests for such blessings should not be denied full stop. It offers an extensive definition of the term “blessing” in Scripture to insist that people seeking a transcendent relationship with God and looking for his love and mercy should not be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” as a precondition for receiving it.
I’m not arguing I’m asking. I say so in my comment. We’re on a discussion board, where we discuss things.
You said, as part of this discussion, before asking your question:
Why did you state that married couples get benefits that same-sex couples don’t get if you didn’t know what you were saying was true?
When it is illegal for same-sex couples to marry that it was one the things they miss out on. Which, according to this article, is still not legally recognized in Vatican City. It seems I do indeed have a point, as it says here their relationship status is not recognized by the Vatican City. Did you see that it said they are not recognized in Vatican City? Legally? Would you agree that it is important that your government legally recognizes your marriage?
It seems then that you were comparing married couples with same-sex couples who were not in a legally recognised life partnership, such as a civil partnership in the UK. Which makes no sense. I think it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of people one interacts with on Lemmy will live in a jurisdiction where same-sex life partnerships are legally recognised.
is a backward city-state and is no way representative of contemporary Western democracies.
They are not legally binding. You need a separate civil marriage.
In the US, a religious figure often has a proper certification and can also provide civil marriage (to streamline the process) or you can have it done separately.
In other countries you actually need to have two ceremonies (typically done on the same day).
Thank you, I have been outside the US but I don’t think I have ever seen a wedding in detail in another culture so I was unsure of the legal aspects of these ceremonies.