ROME (AP) – Three cardinals close to Pope Francis have defended a recent Holy See statement that priests cannot bless gay unions because the Vatican has faced direct dissent from Catholic clergy and questions about the pontiff’s approval of the document .
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican’s secular bureau, agreed on Thursday that the “blessing” is a sacramental action related to the sacrament of marriage, which the Catholic Church teaches can only be celebrated between a man and a woman.
Farrell said civil unions are not “marriages,” as the Catholic Church understands the term, but stressed, “I want to insist that no one, no one should ever be excluded from pastoral care and the love and care of the church.”
He spoke at a press conference that launched a year-long celebration of Francis’ vision of family life, articulated in a 2016 paper entitled “The Joy of Love.”
Later Thursday, Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Vatican’s development office, pointed to Francis’ pastoral expansion to gays and lesbians, but reiterated the church’s position.
“The church has a very clear teaching about marriage that needs to be proclaimed,” O’Malley said during an online discussion at Georgetown University.
Their comments came amid continued criticism of the document released Monday by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which said the Catholic Church cannot bless homosexual unions because God “cannot bless sin.”
In Austria, a group of dissident Catholic priests, known as the Pfarrer Initiative or the Pastors’ Initiative, said they were “deeply constrained” by the new decree and would not follow through.
“This is a return to the times I hoped with Pope Francis to pass,” Austrian priests said in a statement. “We will not reject, in solidarity with so many, any loving couple in the future who ask to celebrate God’s blessing, which they experience every day, and in a worship service.”
The group, which was founded in 2006 by nine priests and today claims 350 members “of the official Roman Catholic Church,” said the decree “discredits the liberating message of Jesus.”
A Belgian bishop, Antwerp Bishop Johan Bonny, apologized to believers on Wednesday for what he said was a “painful and incomprehensible” decision.
In Germany, the Bishop of Mainz, Peter Kohlgraf, also expressed dismay, saying he was “disturbed” by the Vatican’s position and took seriously the criticism he had heard from his flock. In a statement on his diocesan website, Kohlgraf said he supported the views he expressed in writing last month, which appeared to support various liturgical blessings for gay couples that some priests were already using.
“The feasts of the blessing arose from the pastoral accompaniment of the affected persons. Most of them are not formulas that replicate church marriage, nor the intention to develop a uniform liturgy “, he wrote. “No, I do not ask for a marriage-like blessing. But I ask for accompaniment – instead of judging. ”
The presentation of the document was unusual. The Vatican’s press office has not announced in advance that it will leave. The document itself stated that Francis was only “informed and gave his consent for publication.”
Other documents from the Vatican’s Orthodox office received much more authoritative approval from the pope. One issued June 24 on the validity of some baptisms, for example, said that Francis “approved these answers and ordered their publication.”
___
David Rising contributed from Berlin.