Fiducia Supplicans states that the Church cannot permit a liturgical blessing for same-sex couples because it would “offer a form of moral legitimacy to a union that presumes to be a marriage or to an extra-marital sexual practice.”
Yet, the declaration states that the prohibition on liturgical blessings does not preclude priests from offering “spontaneous” pastoral blessings, which are “meant for everyone.” It adds that such blessings are for those who “do not claim a legitimation of their own status but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit.”
The document emphasizes that such “spontaneous” pastoral blessings “should not become a liturgical or semi-liturgical act” and “should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them” and cannot “be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.”
Reactions among American Catholics have been mixed, with some members of the clergy praising the new guidelines and others expressing frustration.
Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest, praised the declaration. Martin is the author of the book “Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity.”
“The declaration opens the door to nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples, something that had been previously off limits for bishops, priests, and deacons,” Martin said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Along with many priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends in same-sex unions.”
