The prohibition of blessing same-sex unions, the Vatican's latest statement has caused controversy within the church

The Paper's reporter Nan Boyi intern Liu Zhuting

Recently, the Church of The Holy See of the Vatican stated that the Catholic Church has no right to give liturgical blessings for same-sex unions "because God cannot bless sin".

Although this statement of the Catholic Church was welcomed by conservatives within the Church, it also caused dissatisfaction and disappointment among LGBTQ (sexual minority) Catholics, some of which even came from within the Catholic Church.

The priest criticized the Vatican for arguing that the logic was flawed

The Ministry of Faith and Reason explained that the Catholic Church's negative statements are aimed not only at homosexuals, but also at all forms of union "outside of marriage" that exist in sexual relations. For a long time, marriages recognized by the Catholic Church could only be "inseparable unions of one man and one woman."

According to the Associated Press, for this matter, Belgian Catholic Priest John Johan Bonny commented in the local newspaper de standaard on the 17th, attacking the Vatican's position, "I am ashamed of my church." Bonnie writes, adding that the Holy See's approach is incomprehensible both "logically and morally."

It is worth noting that in the statement on the 15th, the Ministry of Faith and Reason deliberately distinguished between "God's liturgical blessing for same-sex unions and blessings for homosexual believers", indicating that it intends to prohibit the church from blessing the union of same-sex people, rather than "discriminating" against the homosexual community, and emphasizing that the latter should be accepted, as well as "respect, sympathy and compassion".

Bonnie, however, argues that the Vatican's argumentative logic is unconvincing. As for the Vatican's concept of "sin," Bonnie countered in his commentary that "sin is one of the most difficult theological and moral categories to define, and cannot be defined by the form in which two people live together." ”

There is much strife within the Catholic Church

In addition to Belgium, the Vatican's remarks have also had an impact on the German Catholic Church, which is currently at the forefront of discussions on issues such as homosexuality.

Deutsche Welle (dw) reported that Bischof Georg Bätzing, president of the German Confederation of Catholic Priests, made clear his reservations about the Vatican's ruling. Father Bai Qing believes that although the Vatican's statement seems to be aimed at ending this theological discussion that has affected the Catholic Church in Germany and around the world as soon as possible, it is completely impossible. Father Bai Qing argued that the Catholic Church should discuss such issues more extensively.

Although the Vatican's ban on blessing same-sex unions has been publicly opposed by many reformist Catholic clerics, some of whom even claim to "continue to bless same-sex couples," three cardinals close to Pope Francis still chose to defend the Vatican's position.

The Associated Press reported on the 18th that Cardinal Kevin Farrell, a member of the Vatican laity and minister of family and life, reiterated his position in the previous statement, saying that liturgical blessing is a kind of "holy ceremony" behavior related to marriage, and same-sex union is not a "marriage" as understood by the Catholic Church, so it is "illegal" for clergy to give blessings for same-sex unions.

It is worth noting that the Vatican's statement is inconsistent with the Pope's previous inclusive rhetoric on same-sex marriage. In the 2020 documentary Francesco, which debuted at the Rome Film Festival, Francis said: "Homosexuals have the right to have a family ... What we need to do is to establish civil union laws so that they can be legally protected. I support this approach. ”

Editor-in-charge: Hu Zhenqing

Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang