MOUNT RAINIER, Maryland—Statement by Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director, New Ways Ministry:
Pope Francis gave LGBTQ+ Catholics an early Christmas gift this year by approving blessings for same-gender couples. The Vatican doctrinal office's previous claim that "God does not bless sin" has been uprooted by the new exhortation, "God never turns away anyone who approaches him!"
It cannot be overstated how significant the Vatican's new declaration is. Approving blessings for same-gender couples is certainly monumental. But Pope Francis goes further than that by stating that people should not be subjected to "an exhaustive moral analysis" to receive a sign of God's love and mercy. Such a declaration is one more step Pope Francis has taken to overturn the harsh policing of pastoral care all too common under his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
In contrast, Pope Francis desires pastoral care in which, in the declaration's words, "every brother and every sister will be able to feel that, in the Church, they are always pilgrims, always beggars, always loved, and, despite everything, always blessed." By opening blessings to same-gender couples, the institutional church now expands the ways that LGBTQ+ Catholics can know God's love. And this declaration benefits not only the couples blessed, but every queer person and ally who has had a difficult relationship with the church.
This declaration is proof that church teaching can—and does—change. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has now overturned in full its 2021 statement prohibiting queer blessings because, it claimed, "God does not bless sin." And how does change happen? Formal approval in teaching often recognizes what people are already doing pastorally and theologically. Practice precedes teaching. So, too, with LGBTQ+ blessings.
For decades, the laity, joined by some religious and clergy, have called for greater inclusion of same-gender couples. In the past few years, this call has become louder in places like Germany, where the Synodal Way process approved such blessings earlier this year. The question of
blessings has been a contentious point in Germany, sparking criticism from the Vatican and even Pope Francis. His decision now to approve blessings shows the pope is willing to listen, learn, and respond meaningfully to God's people, something every church leader should be doing.
When I had the honor of meeting Pope Francis this past October, one of his statements that most impressed me was that a thing he is most upset about in the church is priests who chastise people in the confessional. That time, he said, should be a time of welcome, love, and mercy, not a punishment. This new declaration about blessing same-gender couples is an example of that kind of pastoral attitude.
LGBTQ+ Catholics worldwide welcome this early Christmas gift, which brings them much closer to being full and equal members of the Church they love so dearly.
New Ways Ministry is a 46-year old national Catholic ministry of justice and reconciliation for LGBTQ+ people and the church. For more information visit: www.NewWaysMinistry.org .
