As the oldest interfaith organization in the world, the Fellowship of Reconciliation welcomes and applauds the letter Pope Francis sent on Monday, Oct. 3, 2023, suggesting that the Catholic church can bless same-sex unions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the Vatican still defines marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman and has long opposed same sex marriage, this message from the Pope was a significant advancement toward the embrace of LGBTQ+ Catholics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pope\u2019s message, which was a letter in response to questions from cardinals, affirmed that priests are not judges \u201cwho only deny, reject, and exclude.\u201d \u201cPastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of benediction, requested by one or more persons, that do not transmit a mistaken conception of marriage,\u201d he wrote. \u201cBecause when a benediction is requested, it is expressing a request for help from God, a plea to be able to live better, a trust in a father who can help us to live better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and someone of the Jewish faith, I am heartened to hear the Pope affirming that love is love in G-d\u2019s eyes no matter the people\u2019s gender, sexual preference, or religion,\u201d said Ariel Gold. \u201cCatholicism, as well as Orthodox Jewry and other faiths and denominations, have a long way to go to become fully inclusive. But the Pope\u2019s message, which came about thanks in large part to the advocacy of the LGBTQ+ community, is a significant move in the direction of celebrating G-d\u2019s love as a love that blesses without prejudice or discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs someone also rooted in and formed by Ignatian spirituality, and a commitment to faith doing justice, I appreciate the Pope\u2019s affirmation of the inclusivity of benediction,\u201d said FOR\u2019s director of advancement, Dr. Anthony Nicotera. \u201cThe word is taken from the Latin bene, meaning \u2018good,\u2019 and dicta, meaning \u2018to say.\u2019 Thus the Pope is affirming that the LGBTQI+ community, and same-sex unions rooted in God\u2019s love, are worthy of blessing, worthy of having good things said about them. This is hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pope\u2019s letter addressing Catholic same-sex unions follows other Vatican advancements of LGBTQ+ rights: The Pope\u2019s voicing of support for civil laws to include legal benefits for same-sex unions; the blessing of same-sex unions by some Catholic priests in Europe without Vatican censure; and the Pope reaffirming in January 2023 that \u201cbeing homosexual is not a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy to see Pope Francis continuing to lead our Church toward loving pastoral practice with respect to same-sex couples,\u201d said FOR board member and member of the Catholic Worker movement Paul Magno.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thanks in large part to the advocacy of the LGBTQ+ community, the Pope’s message was a significant advancement for the Catholic church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":651,"featured_media":53476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"region":[],"series":[],"article_type":[],"class_list":["post-53690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n