The Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) today declared the “full communion” of the Portuguese bishops with Pope Francis’ favorable position regarding the blessing of same-sex couples.
The CEP’s Permanent Council, which met today in Fatima, declared that it “recognizes the acceptance of all in the Church and expresses the full communion of the Portuguese bishops with the Holy Father” with regard to Pope Francis’ approval of the Catholic Church’s blessing of same-sex couples.
The Permanent Council points out, however, that the recent declaration “on the pastoral meaning of blessings (…) does not alter the Church’s doctrine on marriage”.
On December 18, the Vatican officially authorized the blessing of same-sex couples “in an irregular situation” for the Church, while maintaining its opposition to homosexual marriage.
It was the first time that the Church had made a clear statement on the blessing of same-sex couples, a subject that generates tensions within the institution due to strong opposition from the conservative sector.
Some bishops reacted immediately by declaring that they would not apply the new measure.
On January 4, the Vatican defended the Pope’s move to allow the blessing of same-sex couples, insisting there was nothing “heretical” about it, after resistance from some bishops in Africa, Poland and elsewhere.
In a five-page statement, the Holy See’s department for safeguarding doctrinal orthodoxy indicates that some bishops’ conferences need more time for “pastoral reflection” on Francis’ formal approval of such blessings.
But “there is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally” from the Declaration on Blessings or “to consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the Church or blasphemous”, read the statement from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, quoted by the US news agency Associated Press (AP).
The declaration admits that “prudence and attention to the ecclesial context and local culture may allow for different methods of application” of the new rule of blessings, but affirms that there can be no “total or definitive denial of this path that has been announced to priests”.
He points out that in situations where “there are laws that condemn the mere act of declaring oneself homosexual with imprisonment and, in some cases, torture and even death, it is clear that a blessing would be imprudent”, since “the bishops do not wish to expose homosexuals to violence”.
However, he considers it “fundamental” that the bishops’ conferences “do not support a doctrine that differs from the declaration signed by the Pope”.
The Bishops’ Conferences of Zambia and Malawi have spoken out against the measure. In Zambia, homosexual sex is punishable by 15 years to life imprisonment, while Malawi’s legislation provides for up to 14 years in prison for “gay” relationships, with the option of corporal punishment.
Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has insisted on the importance of a church “open to all” and has taken several measures that have aroused the ire of conservatives.
