Same-Sex Marriage: See What These Men Do After Pope’s Submission
A day after the pope’s announcement that Catholic priests may bless same-sex couples, one New York couple receives theirs.
As a Jesuit priest for more than two decades, the Rev. James Martin has bestowed thousands of blessings — on rosary beads, on babies, on homes, boats, and meals, on statues of saints, on the sick, on brides, and grooms.
Never before, though, was he permitted to bless a same-sex couple — not until Monday, when the pope said he would allow such blessings, an announcement that reverberated through the church.
On Tuesday morning, Damian Steidl Jack, 44, and his husband, Jason Steidl Jack, 38, stood before Father Martin in a living room on Manhattan’s West Side. The couple, running a bit late because of subway delays, dressed casually. Damian, a floral designer, complimented Father Martin on the pine smell of the Christmas tree. – NY Times
Recall the information below:
POPE FRANCIS and the blessing of same-sex couples.
- The doctrine regarding marriage has not changed, and the blessing does not signify approval of the union.
- Those requesting a blessing “should not be required to have prior moral perfection” as a precondition. Don’t we pray and bless other sinners? Through your prayers, they can change their ways and find the true light.
- Blessings are meant for everyone; no one is to be excluded from them (par. 28). It is possible to bless same-sex couples without any type of ritualization or offering the impression of a marriage.
- When two people request a blessing, even if their situation as a couple is “irregular,” they can be blessed. However, this gesture of pastoral charity must avoid any elements that remotely resemble a marriage rite.
- Those who ask for a blessing show themselves “to need God’s saving presence” in their lives by expressing “a petition for God’s assistance and a plea to live better.”
- Although the couple is blessed, the union is not. You can only bless a legitimate relationship between two people. You can pray for them to find “God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely” (par. 38).
- To avoid “any form of confusion or scandal,” the blessing “should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding” (par. 39).
Take notes of these points and be guided.