Vatican Says Catholic Church Cannot Bless Same-Sex Marriages

Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the party is always right.

George Orwell, he/his/him

The Roman Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex marriages, no matter how stable or positive the couples' relationships are, the Vatican said on Monday. The message, approved by Pope Francis, came in response to questions about whether the church should reflect the increasing social and legal acceptance of same-sex unions.

"Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?" the question asked. "Negative", replied the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is responsible for defending Catholic doctrine.

The church says its answer regarding same-sex couples "declares illicit any form of blessing that tends to acknowledge their unions as such".

The message underlines the church's insistence that marriage should be limited to a union between a man and a woman, saying that same-sex unions involve "sexual activity outside of marriage". In the Vatican's view, same-sex marriages are not part of God's plan for families and raising children.

"The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing", the statement said.

Bestowing a blessing on a same-sex couple's relationship would also be an "imitation" of the nuptial blessing, the Vatican said. God, the Vatican said, "does not and cannot bless sin".

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Vatican Says Catholic Church Cannot Bless Same-Sex Marriages

Stuff your blessings up yours for now, Vatican - the next Pope will be even more progressive and Catholic homophobia will cease once and for all