Gay Couples in the Catholic Church Gerry OShea
The Vatican
still names all of its important proclamations in Latin – rather surprising, I
suppose, considering that the now-esoteric language is studied by decreasing numbers.
On December 18th they published an important document dealing with
members living in what they call “irregular” situations. It is named Fiducia
Supplicans and is subtitled “On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings.”
This
pronouncement somewhat changes the status of divorced and remarried Catholics and
also covers people in committed same-sex relationships. Until now, they were
deemed to be outside the full embrace of their church, meeting the criteria for
living in sin, according to those who like to use that kind of jargon. In
theory, at least, they were excluded from the confession box and the altar
rails unless they abandoned their love relationships.
Pope
Francis’ message from the beginning of his papacy claimed that he had no
interest in judging any of these so-called irregular church members. Many voices
on the right, especially among a vocal minority of priests and bishops, were
shocked by this liberal approach by the man occupying the chair of Peter. They
claim that his job involves adjudicating all major moral issues, especially in
the realm of sexuality, where, in their opinion, the world has lost its moral
compass.
The December
Fiducia document created consternation, especially among the church’s
conservative base. The new ruling offered a priestly blessing in certain
circumstances to divorcees, men and women in settled romantic relationships as
well as people in same-sex unions.
Up to this
point in time, the Catholic Church has preached from every pulpit that marriage
vows are only recognized when they involve a male and a female. Furthermore,
the primary purpose of marriage relates to childbearing, although cultivating a
mutually loving relationship is stressed more at church nuptials in recent
decades.
So, any
behavior outside of this marriage model was frowned upon and condemned. Gay
marriage, now common and legal in nearly all Western countries, is still
strongly opposed in Africa and some countries in Eastern Europe and Asia. In a
recent reflection on this matter, Pope Francis approved of legal protections
for these unions. Still, he explained that his church could never allow any
celebration of what it views as an unnatural union.
What does
the bible say about the gay lifestyle? Homosexuality is rarely adverted to by
the biblical authors, and when mentioned, it is mainly in the context of
condemning rape, child molestation, or bestiality, practices that hurt others
and compromise a person’s relationship with God.
Jesus never
spoke about homosexuality. He focused on encouraging his audiences to live compassionate,
non-judgmental lives, responding to the cries of the disadvantaged and destitute.
That is the core Christian message, not condemning what some people consider
sexual aberrations.
While
opponents of same-sex marriage say that the bible condemns lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender unions, no biblical verses directly address gay
marriage or condemn committed same-sex relationships. The magnanimous spirit echoing
through the New Testament is not congruent with often hostile and hateful
rhetoric emanating from many preachers claiming authority in the Catholic and
other Christian communities.
Harsh opposition
to the new ruling is coming from Africa, where attitudes to the gay lifestyle
are similar to what prevailed in the West fifty years ago. Homosexuality is legally
prohibited in 32 of the 54 African countries. In Ghana, for instance, the local
Catholic church vociferously supports laws criminalizing gay relationships.
The
department in the Vatican dealing with implementation, the Dicastery for the
Doctrine of the Faith, DDF, responded to the loud protestations from various dissenting
dioceses, especially in Africa, by seeking to minimize the changes involved.
They
distinguish between a formal and ritualized blessing and a pastoral prayer
requesting God’s grace, and they advise that the wording should be very brief. Their
recommendation suggests that the blessing be limited to ten to fifteen seconds.
They also
suggest that this blessing should not take place before the altar or in any
other prominent place in the church building and that ideally the participants
should be casually dressed. Critics are fearful that these new blessings will
lead to confusion about sacramental marriage.
The
instruction from the DDF mandates that the benediction should not extend to the
relationship between the two people involved and that the ceremony (if we can
call it that) should culminate with the sign of the cross administered separately
to each of the two people, not on them as a couple. After listening to all this
nitpicking, one wag suggested that they will need a team of lawyers in the
spirit world to validate or reject each blessing!
All these confining
restrictions attempt to convey that the Vatican has not changed its conviction
that a true and valid marriage is restricted to a male and female joining
together. Will priests in Germany or Belgium, where they have provided a
blessing for gay couples for many years now, tell their recipients that he is
really giving them two individual blessings, not a benediction on their
committed union?
Ultimately,
the decision for change came from Pope Francis who, in his own words, had
wearied of playing the role of “judges who only deny, reject and exclude.” It
is surely significant that the LGBTQ+ community will be recognized as part of
their Catholic parishes, assuring them of a valued place in all ceremonies and
deliberations.
Comments
Post a Comment