ROME (AP) – Three cardinals close to Pope Francis defended a recent statement by the Holy See that priests cannot bless same-sex unions, as the Vatican has faced total dissent from some Catholic clergy and questions about approval of the document by the pontiff.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican laity cabinet, agreed Thursday with the pronouncement that a “blessing” is a sacramental action related to the sacrament of marriage, which the Catholic Church teaches can only be celebrated between a man and a woman. a woman.
Farrell said that civil unions are not “marriages” as the Catholic Church understands the term, but he emphasized: “I want to insist that no one, no one should ever be excluded from the pastoral care and love and concern of the Church.”
He was speaking at a press conference to launch a one-year celebration of Francisco’s vision of family life, articulated in a 2016 document entitled “The joy of love”.
Later on Thursday, Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Vatican’s development office, pointed to Francis’ pastoral reach for gays and lesbians, but echoed the Church’s position.
“The Church has a very clear teaching on marriage that needs to be proclaimed,” said O’Malley during an online discussion panel organized by Georgetown University.
His comments were made amid continuing criticism of the document released on Monday by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which said the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions because God “cannot bless sin.”
In Austria, a group of dissident Catholic priests known as the Pfarrer-Initiative, or Pastors’ Initiative, said they were “deeply shocked” by the new decree and would not follow it.
“This is a return to the times we had hoped with Pope Francis to overcome,” said the priests in Austria in a statement. “We, in solidarity with so many, will not reject any loving couple in the future who ask to celebrate God’s blessing, which they experience every day, also in a service.
The group, which was founded in 2006 by nine priests and today claims 350 members “from the official Roman Catholic Church”, said the decree “discredits Jesus’ liberating message”.
A Belgian bishop, Antwerp bishop Johan Bonny, apologized to the faithful on Wednesday for what he said was a “painful and incomprehensible” decision.
In Germany, the bishop of Mainz, Peter Kohlgraf, also expressed dismay, saying he was “bothered” by the Vatican’s position and took seriously the criticisms he heard from his flock. In a statement on his diocesan website, Kohlgraf said he supports the views he expressed in writing last month, which appeared to endorse several liturgical blessings for gay couples that some priests were already using.
“The blessing celebrations arose from the pastoral care of those affected. Most of them are not formulas that reproduce marriage in the Church, nor is it the intention to develop a uniform liturgy, ”he wrote. “No, I do not call for a blessing similar to marriage. But I ask for follow-up – instead of judging. “
The distribution of the document was unusual. The Vatican press office did not give any advance notice that it was leaving. The document itself said that Francisco had only been “informed and gave his consent to publication”.
Other documents from the Vatican orthodoxy office carry a much more reliable endorsement from the pope. One published on June 24 on the validity of some baptisms, for example, said that Francis “approved these responses and ordered their publication”.
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David Rising contributed from Berlin.