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The official blessing of same-sex couples by Pope Francis represents an important departure from previous Vatican policies. The point is that the method has changed. According to rules laid down in a new document, those who desire God’s love and mercy should not submit themselves to an exhaustive moral inspection before they are able to enjoy these blessings.
This document from the doctrine office of the Vatican announced on Monday goes into further detail concerning a letter sent by Pope Francis to two conservative cardinals last October. The first reaction said that in principle blessings for same-sex couples would not be permitted, but under particular circumstances and provided it wasn’t the sacrament of marriage this could count as an exception.
This rationale is reaffirmed in the new document, which states that marriage is a permanent sacrament between man and woman. It emphasizes that blessings should not overlap with civil unions and stay away from those aspects belonging to a traditional wedding.
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As it says in the document, blessings for same-sex couples should not be refused out of hand. To emphasize that people seeking a supernatural relationship with God, clinging to His love and mercy are not required to undergo an exhaustive moral examination first as a precondition for such blessings. It offers in-depth research on the term blessing in Scripture.
Fundamentally, the document says that a blessing can give people another way to be able to strengthen their trust in God. The request for a blessing thus signifies and receives the affirmation of an openness to transcendence, mercy, closeness in all of the thousand small joys and pains that are partand parcelof ordinary life. This is no trivial matter in our world today. It declares firmly that this little seed has been planted by God’s very own hand; such nurture
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