{"id":7630,"date":"2023-12-19T04:54:10","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T04:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=7630"},"modified":"2025-08-21T21:06:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T21:06:52","slug":"the-pope-same-sex-couples-an-informative-link-and-headlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-pope-same-sex-couples-an-informative-link-and-headlines\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pope, Same-Sex Couples, an Informative Link: and Headlines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20231112ff\/20231218-evening-PopeSameSexCoupleBlessing-658%20-%20Copy.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Headlines, including New York Times 'Pope Francis Allows Priests to Bless Same-Sex Couples'. (December 18, 2023)\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Pope Francis Allows Priests to Bless Same-Sex Couples&#8221; and other catchy headlines. (December 18, 2023)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Headlines are supposed to get attention. That&#8217;s what these did:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Vatican approves blessings for same-sex couples in landmark ruling&#8221; (Reuters)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Pope Francis Allows Priests to Bless Same-Sex Couples&#8221; (The New York Times)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Vatican Issues Guidelines for Same-Sex Blessings&#8221; (The Wall Street Journal)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m not sure about &#8220;The &#8216;spirit&#8217; of &#8216;Fiducia supllicans'&#8221; in The Pillar. Maybe it&#8217;s attention-grabbing for the publication&#8217;s demographic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyway, what Pope Francis said \u2014 what he actually said, not what editors say he said \u2014 is <strong>not<\/strong> what I&#8217;m going to write about this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"important\"><\/a>Important, Yes \u2014 Something I&#8217;ll do This Week, No<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pope-francis-and-an-open-catholic-church\/#pope\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20230509ff\/20230810-PopeFrancisWYD-ABC-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Pope Francis: Catholic Church is for everyone. ABC News (August 7, 2023)\"><\/a>For one thing, I&#8217;ve talked about perceptions, popes, our current pope, and acting as if what I believe matters, before. Recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For another, Vatican News gives a pretty good overview about the current <strong><em>SHOCKING NEW UNPRECEDENTED DISRUPTIVE DECLARATION<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 or whatever the current adjustment of pastoral practice will be called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I suspect we&#8217;ll get the usual fervently feverish screeds, denouncing what some reporter said the pope said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And equally-imaginative &#8216;it&#8217;s about time&#8217; declarations from daring defenders of creatively alternative lifestyles. Or whatever this month&#8217;s in-vogue term is. Followed in due course by laments that the Catholic Church doesn&#8217;t agree with everybody in the faculty lounge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I recommend reading what Vatican News says about it And, if you&#8217;ve got time and patience, the almost-5,000-word English translation of <a href=\"https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/it\/bollettino\/pubblico\/2023\/12\/18\/0901\/01963.html#en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Declaration \u2018<em>Fiducia supplicans<\/em>\u2018 on the pastoral meaning of blessings<\/a>. I lifted that link from this article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/en\/vatican-city\/news\/2023-12\/fiducia-supplicans-doctrine-faith-blessing-irregular-couples.html\"><strong>Doctrinal declaration opens possibility to bless couples in irregular situations<\/strong><\/a>&#8220;<br>&#8220;With the Declaration &#8216;Fiducia supplicans&#8217; issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved by Pope Francis, it will be possible to bless same-sex couples but without any type of ritualization or offering the impression of a marriage. The doctrine regarding marriage does not change, and the blessing does not signify approval of the union.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vatican News (December 18, 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;When two people request a blessing, even if their situation as a couple is &#8216;irregular,&#8217; it will be possible for the ordained minister to consent. However, this gesture of pastoral closeness must avoid any elements that remotely resemble a marriage rite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This is what is stated the <a href=\"https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/it\/bollettino\/pubblico\/2023\/12\/18\/0901\/01963.html#en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener\">Declaration &#8216;<i>Fiducia supplicans<\/i>&#8216; on the pastoral meaning of blessings<\/a>, published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope Francis&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>If I see enough sound and fury in social media and my news feed, then maybe I&#8217;ll carefully read &#8220;Fiducia supplicans&#8221;, go over what the Church has been saying and \u2014 based on its two millennia track record \u2014 what I think it will continue saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I may read it anyway, since it&#8217;s a new Church document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides, I occasionally talk about both why I see no point in complaining about the Catholic Church accepting imperfect people: <strong>and<\/strong> why I think some rules make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of which, all those rules boil down to this: I should love God, love my neighbor, and see everybody as my neighbor. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/matthew\/5#48005043\">Matthew 5:43<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/matthew\/5#48005044\">44<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/matthew\/22#48022036\">22:36<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/matthew\/22#48022040\">40<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/mark\/12#49012028\">Mark 12:28<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/mark\/12#49012031\">31<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/luke\/6#50006031\">Luke 6:31<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/luke\/10#50010025\">10:25<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/luke\/10#50010037\">37<\/a>; Catechism, 1789)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s everybody. Including that massive chunk of humanity who are not just like me. \ud83d\ude09 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a name=\"allegedly\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/free-to-agree-with-me-cancel-culture-and-freedom-of-expression\/#outof\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/chickenman-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Dick Orkin's Chickenman, fighting crime and\/or evil: see superheroes.fandom.com\/wiki\/Chickenman http:\/\/www.the60sofficialsite.com\/Chickenman.html https:\/\/content.time.com\/time\/subscriber\/article\/0,33009,843884,00.html\" align=\"right\"><\/a>Allegedly-related posts, including a cursorily superficial look at why I&#8217;ve been out of step since my youth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/free-to-agree-with-me-cancel-culture-and-freedom-of-expression\/\">Free to Agree With Me: Cancel Culture and Freedom of Expression<\/a>&#8220;<br>(November 18, 2023)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/free-to-agree-with-me-cancel-culture-and-freedom-of-expression\/#outof\">Out of Step: a Half-Century-Plus and Counting<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pope-francis-politics-and-being-catholic-briefly\/\">Pope Francis, Politics and Being Catholic: Briefly<\/a>&#8220;<br>(August 28, 2023)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pope-francis-politics-and-being-catholic-briefly\/#being\">Being Catholic, and American<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pope-francis-politics-and-being-catholic-briefly\/#notfitting\">[Not] Fitting a Political Pigeonhole<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pope-francis-and-an-open-catholic-church\/\">Pope Francis and an Open Catholic Church<\/a>&#8220;<br>(August 12, 2023)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pope-francis-and-an-open-catholic-church\/#pope\">Pope Francis and the News<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pope-francis-and-the-virtue-of-vigilance\/\">Pope Francis and &#8216;The Virtue of Vigilance&#8217;<\/a>&#8220;<br>(December 23, 2022)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/pope-francis-and-the-virtue-of-vigilance\/#lurking\">Lurking Demons in the News, and a Pleasant Surprise<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/jwst-names-claims-and-attitudes\/\">JWST: Names, Claims and Attitudes<\/a>&#8220;<br>(December 3, 2022)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/jwst-names-claims-and-attitudes\/#mccarthyism\">McCarthyism \u2014 and Why I Don&#8217;t Miss the &#8216;Good Old Days&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Headlines are supposed to get attention. That&#8217;s what these did: I&#8217;m not sure about &#8220;The &#8216;spirit&#8217; of &#8216;Fiducia supllicans&#8217;&#8221; in The Pillar. Maybe it&#8217;s attention-grabbing for the publication&#8217;s demographic. Anyway, what Pope Francis said \u2014 what he actually said, not &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-pope-same-sex-couples-an-informative-link-and-headlines\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Monday headlines about same-sex marriages and the pope. Excerpt from Vatican News. A link to Fiducia Supplicans. 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