By Sarah Gilley, Editor-in-Chief
On Dec. 18, 2023, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, the bishop of Rome, and Sovereign of the Vatican City State, extended his blessing to same-sex couples. This historic and compassionate gesture highlights a significant shift from the Catholic Church on their approach towards LGBTQ+ people and their rights.
Catholic traditions of blessings, or sacramentals, as it is more commonly known as, prepare people “to receive the grace of the sacraments and help us to grow to be more like Christ,” according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
As mentioned in an article by AP News, this decision marks a “radical shift” to help allow the church to be more inclusive, while also keeping a strict ban on gay marriage. However, this decision has been seen by many LGBTQ+ advocates as undermining same-sex couples by keeping them in a place as inferior.
When it comes to the Pope’s blessing, this does not explicitly mean a blessing to be wed, as documents have arisen from a letter Francis sent back in October 2023 say that the Catholic Church still believes that marriage is solely between a man and a woman.
An article from the USCCB discusses this new decision in more detail. It states, “A Catholic priest can bless a gay or other unmarried couple as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Catholic Church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage.”
Within these documents it is outlined the conditions that this blessing hold, as these blessings are prohibited from being tied to any and all Catholic celebration or religious services. Along with these conditions, the couple is prohibited from using their blessing in a ritual that involvesclothing and gestures that belong to weddings.
However, ever since his election in 2013, Francis has always supported everyone. He remarked,“Who am I to judge?” about a gay priest, to his most recent comment in 2023 saying: “Being homosexual is not a crime.”
JP Schellenberg, a business management senior and part of University Ministry shared his thoughts on this news.
“I think where we get in trouble is we read just the headlines, and we don’t read into the stuff behind them,” said Schellenberg.
It is a common trend that most people see a headline and run with it; however, Schellenberg goes into more detail.
“The documents affirm that a priest needs to be stewards of blessings. Now, the tricky thing is that the church also cannot bless what it views as sin. Where we get in trouble is the church also, in the same document, reiterates the position of marriage, as something set apart only by God to be between a man and women. This entire document feels messy,” Schellenberg stated.
This new approval allows for same-sex couples to feel more included in the church, while being able to not be subjected to a moral analysis for being themselves.
