Pope Francis has formally signed off on allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples — a radical change in Vatican policy.
A declaration from the Vatican’s doctrine office released Monday provides guidance and details the declaration, which states, in part, “When people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it. For those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection.”
“Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,” the declaration states. “The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live.”
“By removing barriers to priests blessing LGBTQ couples, the Pope accurately recognizes that LGBTQ people and our relationships are worthy of the same affirmation and support in the Church, and this strengthens couples in their faith and to the community,”
