Pope Francis has invited LGBT advocates to the Vatican. He has spoken warmly about the place of gay people in the church. He has called for national laws for same-s.e.x civil unions. Francis definitively signalled the limits to his reformist intentions, signing off on a Vatican decree that reaffirms old church teaching and bars priests from blessing same-sex unions.
The pronouncement, issued at a time when some clerics were interested in performing such blessings, leans on the kind of language that LGBT Catholics have long found alienating — and that they had hoped Francis might change. It says that same-sex unions are “not ordered to the Creator’s plan.” It says acknowledging those unions is “illicit.” It says that God “cannot bless sin.
The decree shows how Francis, rather than revolutionizing the church’s stance toward gays, has taken a far more complicated approach, speaking in welcoming terms while maintaining the official teaching. That leaves gay Catholics wondering about their place within the faith, when the catechism calls homosexual acts “disordered” but the pontiff says, “Who am I to judge?
Though the Vatican did not specify what prompted the decree, it was written in response to existing doctrinal questions. Some Vatican watchers speculated that the church might be responding directly to bishops in Germany, who are in the middle of a multiyear series of meetings — to the alarm of conservatives — aimed at reevaluating major aspects of the church, including s.e.xuality and the role of women.
In other news – Justin Bieber skips 2021 Grammy awards to take wife Hailey on date night
Justin Bieber went on date night with his wife Hailey instead of hitting up the 2021 Grammy Awards at the weekend.
The “Hold On” singer scooped his first Best Country Duo/Group Performance prize for “10,000 Hours” with Dan+ Shay at Sunday night’s ceremony. However, the 27-year-old singer opted to take his other half on a romantic dinner date to Sant’olina in Beverly Hills, instead of heading to the awards show. Learn more
Source: washingtonpost
