Pope Francis says marriage blessings for homosexuals possible

The response to a letter from Cardinals on clarification of blessings for homosexuals and Female Priests was made on July 11, but posted by the Vatican on October 2, 2023.

Pope Francis told the Cardinals that if the Catholic Church wants to pursue pastoral prudence, then it must be able to discern “if there are ways of giving blessings to homosexual persons that do not alter the Church’s teachings on marriage,” the site, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reported.

The Pope furthered, that marriage is an exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to conceiving children” For this reason, the Church avoids all kinds of rites or sacramentals that could contradict this conviction and imply that it is recognizing as a marriage something that is not.” Pope Francis wrote.

While advising that blessing homosexual marriages should not become a norm by bishops and cardinals, but decisions made in some circumstances, he insisted that pastoral charity also is necessary, and “defense of the objective truth is not the only expression of that charity, which is also made up of kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, encouragement,” he added. “For that reason, pastoral prudence must adequately discern if there are forms of blessing, solicited by one or various persons, that don’t transmit a mistaken concept of marriage.” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops revealed on their site.