The Polish Bishops’ Conference issued a statement on Thursday, unequivocally stating that individuals engaged in same-sex relationships are ineligible for blessings. This declaration comes in the aftermath of a Vatican document that surprisingly endorsed blessings for same-sex couples.
Fr. Leszek Gęsiak, the spokesperson for the Polish Episcopal Conference, elucidated after conferring with the conference’s Permanent Council, “Given that engaging in sexual acts outside the bounds of marriage, which is the unbreakable union of a man and a woman open to procreation, invariably contravenes the will and wisdom of God as expressed in the sixth commandment… individuals in such relationships are ineligible for blessings. This is particularly applicable to individuals in same-sex relationships.”
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On the 18th of December, a document titled Fiducia Supplicans was issued by Pope Francis and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández. This document astonishingly permits “blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex,” which starkly contradicts the unalterable Catholic doctrine that the Church cannot confer blessings on relationships deemed sinful.
This declaration stands in glaring contradiction to a Responsum concerning the blessing of same-sex unions, which was published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on February 22, 2021, and had been endorsed by Pope Francis himself.
Fr. Gęsiak made reference to this Responsum, which was issued in response to the Dubiam, “Does the Church have the power to bless same-sex unions?” He highlighted that the CDF’s 2021 Responsum provided a resounding “negative.”
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Meanwhile The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has said that Catholic Churches in the country would not bless same-sex unions.
The bishops said the blessing of the same-sex union is against God’s law, the teachings of the church, and the law of the country.
They made this known in a statement released and signed by the President of the conference, Lucius Ugirji and the Secretary, Donayus Ogun on Wednesday.
They said, “The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria assures the entire People of God that the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage remains the same. There is, therefore, no possibility in the teaching of the Church of blessing same-sex unions and activities.
That would go against God’s law, the teachings of the Church, the laws of our nation, and the cultural sensibilities of our people.”
The bishops, however, stated that Pope Francis’s permitting of the blessing of same-sex marriage was misinterpreted.
Clarifying the Pope’s statement, the bishops said, “The declaration seeks to clarify the different forms of blessing that can be given to persons and objects in the Catholic Church, including the possibility of blessing persons in irregular unions. Such unions include but are not limited to divorced and remarried couples whose previous marriages had not been annulled, those living in same-sex unions, those in polygamous unions, in concubinage, etc.”
“The declaration acknowledges and carefully distinguishes between ritual, liturgical, and informal blessings. While ritual or liturgical blessings are imparted according to the established norms of the Church, informal blessings refer to prayers over people who ask for them outside the liturgy or any formal declaration offers a consideration of the possibility of extending the informal blessing to all Cod’s children, irrespective their moral condition, when they ask to be blessed.
“Nevertheless, the Declaration insists that the blessing of persons in irregular unions- and never the union of itself- can only take a non-liturgical form to avoid confusion. It should not be imparted during or in connection with connection with a civil wedding ceremony or with clothing, words, and signs associated with a wedding.
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They better do the right thing
The church does not accept gay relationship because is not a union between a man and a woman.l