A group of priests who distanced themselves from the critical Catholic Church The recent decree of the Vatican that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex marriages. The initiative of Austrian priests, a group of priests leading a campaign of disobedience against the Vatican, said this week that they will continue to bless same-sex couples.
The initiative (also called the Pfarrer-Initiative) said in a statement that its members “are deeply constrained by the new Roman decree that seeks to ban the blessing of same-sex couples.”
“This is a relapse in times that we hoped to overcome with Pope Francis,” the group’s statement continued. “In solidarity with so many, we will not reject in the future any loving couple who want to celebrate God’s blessing, which they experience every day, in a church service.”
“Reality has long shown that same-sex couples connected in love can celebrate God’s blessing in the church. State-of-the-art theology establishes this responsible practice,” the statement said.
The Austrian Priests’ Initiative was founded in 2006 by nine priests and now has about 350 members of the Roman Catholic Church. Most of its members are from Austria, but the initiative has spread to other countries. More than 3,000 people support the reform movement, led by Father Helmut Schüller.
The group’s call for disobedience aims to reform the Catholic Church. In part, he would like to create a new image of a priest so that a man or woman, married or unmarried, can serve as a priest.
“The initiative of the Austrian priest is an Austrian-level movement of Roman Catholic priests and deacons who follow their conscience and campaign for new paths in the church,” the group said in a statement. “Its objectives are: living congregations, contemporary synodal church structures and, above all, a credible and open world church that focuses on sincere service to the people.”
The group also said it protests “vehemently” against the assumption that same-sex couples are not part of God’s divine plan. “We deeply regret that this decree, which seeks to revive the spirit of the past, widens the gap between the Roman bureaucracy and the local church,” the group said. “This decree offends many Christians and hides and discredits the liberating message of Jesus.”
The Vatican decree states that the Church cannot bless homosexual unions because God “cannot bless sin,” the Associated Press rEPORTS.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is the Vatican’s Orthodox office, issued a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis.
The Vatican argues that gay people should be treated with respect and dignity, however, homosexual sex is considered “intrinsically disordered.” In Catholicism, marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman, it is destined for the sake of creating a new life and it is part of God’s plan, reports AP.