A local priest reacts to Pope Francis’ approval of blessing same-sex couples

A local Priest at the Saint Cecilia Catholic Community Church explains the new development from Pope Francis formally approving priests to bless same-sex couples. He was clear to state that his church is an Ecumenical Catholic church, not Roman Catholic, that has been blessing and marrying same-sex couples since 2015.

News Channel 3 reached out to the San Bernardino Diocese. John Andrews shared a statement that was issued today by Bishop Alberto Rojas in response to the Vatican’s announcement that blessings of same-sex couples are now permissible.

“While today’s declaration from the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith affirms that the Sacrament of Marriage can only be between one man and one woman, it also gives us an important reminder of the love and mercy of Jesus. A blessing is not a sacrament and anybody can give a blessing to anybody else. A blessing in the Biblical sense is the general gesture to wish good to others. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to extend His love and mercy to all our brothers and sisters, including LGBTQ+ couples, without qualification or judgment.”

"I hope that it has a positive impact and it gives that community a feeling of being more included and welcomed," says John Andrews of the Diocese of San Bernardino. He is reacting to Pope Francis's formal approval, allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. Andrews says the pope is trying to broaden the understanding of blessing.  Father David Justin Lynch of St. Cecilia explains. "A blessing is basically a sanctification; it calls down god's good will upon the persons that are blessed," says Father Lynch. "We blessed people here all the time for various reasons."

Lynch is a part of the Ecumenical Catholic Community. He doesn't answer to the Pope but says the blessing update is long overdue. "The roman catholic church is catching up to where we are already," says Father Lynch. "We have been doing same-sex marriages in the ecumenical catholic communion in California since at least 2015."

The blessing is not seen as a sacrament of marriage. "We don't want this to be confused with what the church teaches about marriage between a man and a woman" says Andrews.

The shift in policy aimed at making the church more inclusive while still maintaining a strict ban on gay marriage. "I hope that it shows the lgbtq plus community that it recognized their dignity and sameness with all brothers and sisters," says Andrews.

The blessing can only happen in informal settings. Not as part of regular church rituals.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.

The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage.

READ MORE: Pope Francis says homosexuality is a sin but not a crime

The new document repeats that rationale and elaborates on it, reaffirming that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. And it stresses that blessings should not be conferred at the same time as a civil union or even with the clothing and gestures that belong in a wedding.

But it says requests for such blessings should not be denied full stop. It offers an extensive definition of the term “blessing” in Scripture to insist that people seeking a transcendent relationship with God and looking for his love and mercy should not be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” as a precondition for receiving it.

“Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,” the document said. “The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live.”

He added: “It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.”

For those interested in learning more about faith-based organizations and how they promote same-sex marriage within their community, a conversation is coming up this Wednesday at the Mizell Center.