Blessings for Same-Sex Couples: An Elephant in the Room? by Dr. Jeff Mirus

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture, Dec 18, 2023

The new declaration Fiducia Supplicans: On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings, from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, is primarily an effort to place the question of blessings for same-sex couples into the larger context of non-liturgical blessings as a whole. Its strength is the distinction it makes between the purpose of ordinary blessings for the good of souls, on the one hand, and liturgical blessings which are tied to the Church’s sacramental system, on the other.

The distinction is a valid one in the sense that a liturgical blessing has a particular purpose in connection with the Church’s particular sacramental objectives, especially (in this case) the liturgical sacramental objective of Christian marriage. On the other hand, an ordinary personal blessing is directed toward the well-being of the one who is blessed. As an example of my own, a father does not withhold his blessing from a child because the child is a sinner. So, after all, is the father….

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