Catholic church to bless gays, not solemnise their marriages

Local Catholic priests have said a directive by Pope Francis this week - for the church to bless same-sex couples - does not the alter their approach to this issue, including the fact that they will not solemnise weddings involving such couples.

Pope Francis, the global leader of the Roman Catholic Church, said priests should be permitted to bless same-sex and "irregular" couples under certain circumstances.

This was widely understood, including in Namibia, to mean that the Catholic church will now marry same-sex couples. But the Vatican said blessings should not be part of regular church rituals or related to civil unions or weddings. It added that it continues to view marriage as between a man and a woman.

Very simple

Reverend Dr Benny Karuvelil, the secretary-general of the Namibia Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the Pope’s directive is very simple and very clearly states that the pronouncement is not an approval of same-sex marriages.

“Suppose a person in an irregular marriage comes for blessing and requests blessing or mercy from the church. The church will bless them,” he said.

“They can come as a couple or as individuals, but it will not be a blessing over their marriage, but rather for them as individuals seeking a change of heart or change of attitude.”

He stressed that the ritualistic blessings done in the Catholic church will in no way be adjusted to specifically cater for those unions of same-sex couples.

Nothing extraordinary

Another local Catholic leader, Dr Veranus Shiimi, said the pronouncement is nothing extraordinary as the church has never chased gay people away, and has instead insisted that anyone is welcome to attend church.

“The church does not discriminate, but the blessing is not ritualistic. It is just like a person would come and get a normal blessing. The church would not like to exclude people because they are gay.”

He added: "The natural law stipulates that two people of the same sex cannot procreate. How can the church bless such a thing? There is no way the church can ritualise a same-sex marriage”.

The Vatican this week emphasised that such blessings do not entail an official validation of same-sex marital status, nor do they alter the church's long-standing teachings on marriage.

It said the declaration is intended as a “tribute to the faithful people of God, who worship the Lord with so many gestures of deep trust in His mercy” and who, with this confidence, constantly come to seek blessings from the church.

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