The Vatican Refuses to Bless Same-Sex Unions
Headquartered in Vatican City, the Catholic Church reaffirmed its opposition to same-sex relationships on March 15. (Wikimedia)
The Vatican issued a decree on March 15 forbidding clergy from blessing same-sex unions. The city-state unilaterally declared that the Catholic Church cannot accept same-sex relationships in any capacity.
The new proclamation includes language accommodating gay and lesbian Catholics, such as encouraging pastors to “welcome with respect and sensitivity persons with homosexual inclinations.” However, much to the chagrin of gay and lesbian activists, the Vatican resolutely maintained its stance that homosexual unions are immoral because “[God] does not and cannot bless sin.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which delineates the official beliefs of Catholicism, describes homosexual conduct as an act “of grave depravity.” It calls upon faithful homosexual Catholics to refrain from all sexual activity. And yet, despite official doctrine, recent polling suggests that Catholics in Western Europe and North America are widely accepting of homosexual individuals. A large majority of Catholics in Western Europe even support the legality of same-sex marriage, which the Church is staunchly opposed to. In fact, Catholics and non-Catholics are about equally likely to be accepting of homosexuality.
Same-sex couples have gained legal rights around the world with remarkable speed. Only 20 years ago, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. Today, same-sex marriage is allowed in varying forms in 30 countries and territories around the world. More than half of these countries are in Western Europe. That said, despite the global trend in favor of gay rights, homosexuality is still illegal in 70 countries and punishable by death in 12. In Western Europe, Italy is the largest country where same-sex marriage is still not recognized, although civil unions are permitted.
This new statement comes in response to a reckoning within the Catholic Church on the treatment of LGBTQ+ people. Pope Francis expressed support for blessing same-sex civil unions, although he did not go so far as to support same-sex marriage. As the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis has always held progressive views on respecting LGBTQ+ people in the church, yet he still assented to the release of the recent statement.
The Vatican’s decree immediately generated a widespread outcry among gay rights activists. Elton John, the most successful openly gay musical artist in history, lambasted the Catholic Church on Twitter for its apparent hypocrisy in opposing gay rights. According to John, the Vatican “happily [made] a profit from investing millions in ‘Rocketman,’” his 2019 biopic. The Vatican’s Secretariat of State invested 1 million euros into Rocketman, which followed John’s journey of love and self-acceptance as a gay man. Several countries censored Rocketman for its explicit homosexual content.
Although controversial, the Vatican’s policy on refusing to bless same-sex unions will bring little to no tangible change. The Church released a statement with an almost identical message in 2003. While Catholics around the world broadly support legal rights for gay and lesbian individuals, the Church itself refuses to budge.