Vatican Rejects German Plan to Bless Gay Couples

The Vatican has again rejected the formalized blessing of homosexual and other extra-marital unions in Germany. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez confirmed that a November 2024 letter remains a binding response even to the new document "Blessing Strengthens Love", approved this year by German bishops and Catholic leaders, according to Vatican News.

According to the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the proposed rites go beyond what the 2023 document Fiducia Supplicans allows. While that document permits spontaneous blessings, it prohibits the creation of liturgical or para-liturgical rituals that could give the impression of recognizing unions contrary to the Church's teaching on marriage.

Pope Leo XIV also weighed in on the debate, noting that the Holy See had already made its opposition clear to the German bishops regarding the formalized blessing of couples in irregular situations.

(mja)