Blessing Same-Sex Unions—Did the Pope Really Say That?

PRAY WITH US about blessing same-sex unions: Father God, we thank You that every good and perfect gift comes from above, not from men. For they come from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. At Christmas we remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus. Through Him we have Your unchanging Word on marriage between man and woman. To be fruitful and multiply and produce children. So continue to affirm Your Word as the first and last Word on this issue. And lead Your established leaders to do so too.

We also thank You for Jesus that You “sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:26). Thank You for the cross that cancels out all our sins against You. So give grace to those who need forgiveness and not approval for their sins, to know Him and His ways. And lead them out of temptation into Your higher ways. Help them find the narrow way to life and escape the broad way to destruction. In Jesus’ name, amen.

PRAYER ALERT: Blessing Same-Sex Unions—Did the Pope Really Say That?

Many Catholics are struggling with headlines that Pope Francis allows blessings on same-sex unions. But behind the headlines lies a different story. The document “On Blessings and the Catholic Church’s Desire for All to Come to the Grace of God,” reaffirms marriage. It calls marriage the ““exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman.” Which is “naturally open to the generation of children.”

Also it says “the Church has the right and the duty to avoid any rite that might contradict this conviction.” For “the Church does not have the power to impart blessings on unions of persons of the same sex.”

It makes a distinction between two kinds of blessing. First, the “ascending” blessing of legitimizing a relationship. Second, the “descending” blessing “from God upon those…recognizing themselves to be destitute and in need of his help…”

Photo: Fczarnowski, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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