Pope Francis Allows Blessings for Same-sex Couples in Church
"It's precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church's perennial teaching on marriage," Fernandez wrote.
The Vatican instructs priests to refuse the blessing in connection with a ceremony of a civil union, or with any "clothing, gestures or words" that are associated with weddings.
Instead, the proper settings for such a blessing could be in a meeting with a priest or a visit to a shrine, the Vatican suggests.
Blessings may be granted to same-sex couples and other couples "in irregular situations" (such as divorced and remarried couples who were not granted annulments for their previous marriages) who "do not claim a legitimation of their own status, but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit," the document explained.
"God never turns away anyone who approaches him! Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God," it continued.
Pope Francis' Funeral Mass Held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
The funeral mass for Pope Francis was held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, on Friday evening local time.
