“It would not be permissible to introduce new official structures or doctrines in dioceses before an agreement had been reached at the level of the universal Church, which would constitute a violation of ecclesial communion and a threat to the unity of the Church,” the Vatican warns.
September 2022: Belgian bishops formally back blessings
On Sept. 20, the bishops of Flanders, the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, publish a liturgy for the celebration of homosexuals who are in a relationship.
The liturgy includes prayers, Scripture reading, and parts in which the couple can “express before God how they are committed to one another.”
The bishops also announce that each diocese will appoint a person “to give explicit attention to the situation of homosexual persons, their parents, and families in the conduct of policy.” They add that Pope Francis expressed the need for this type of accompaniment in his 2016 apostolic exhortation on the pastoral care of families, Amoris Laetitia (‘The Joy of Love’).”
November 2022: Vatican urges German bishops to halt Synodal Way
The Vatican requests that the German bishops temporarily halt the German Synodal Way, which the bishops ultimately refuse to do.
March 2023: German Synodal Way backs homosexual blessings
The German Synodal Way approves a document that allows for the blessing of homosexual unions, titled “Blessing ceremonies for couples who love each other.” The vote passes overwhelmingly with only nine of 58 bishops opposing the document. Another 11 abstain from voting. If the other 11 had voted against the proposal, it would have failed to reach the necessary two-thirds majority.
July 2023: New Vatican leader suggests blessings possible
On July 1, Pope Francis appoints Argentine Archbishop (now Cardinal) Víctor Manuel Fernández to head the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. In the first week of his new role, the archbishop suggests that some type of blessing of homosexual unions could be considered.
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When asked if he agreed with the Vatican’s rejection of “blessing” homosexual unions in 2021, Fernández responds, “Now, if a blessing is given in such a way that it does not cause that confusion, it will have to be analyzed and confirmed.”
He adds: “As you will see, there is a point where we leave a properly theological discussion and move on to a question that is rather prudential or disciplinary.”
July 10, 2023: Five cardinals submit dubia to Pope Francis
Five cardinals submit a formal set of questions, or dubia, to Pope Francis to express their concerns and seek clarification on points of doctrine and discipline ahead of the Oct. 4 opening of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican.
One of the questions pertains to same-sex blessings. The cardinals — German Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, American Cardinal Raymond Burke, Hong Kong Cardinal Zen Ze-Kiun, Mexican Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, and Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah — point to the Church’s teaching based on divine revelation and Scripture that “God created man in his own image, male and female he created them and blessed them, that they might be fruitful” (Gen 1:27-28), and St. Paul’s teaching that to deny sexual difference is the consequence of the denial of the Creator (Rom 1:24-32). They then ask the pope if the Church can deviate from such teaching and accept “as a ‘possible good’ objectively sinful situations, such as same-sex unions, without betraying revealed doctrine?”