Cardinal Fernández affirms on ABC that the informal or “pastoral” blessing promoted by Begging for confidence In the case of homosexual people, it does not mean “accepting a marriage, nor is it a ratification of the life they lead, nor is it an absolution. “It is a simple gesture of pastoral closeness that does not have the same demands of a sacrament.”
“We will have to get used to understanding that if a priest gives this type of simple blessings he is not a heretic, he is not ratifying anything, nor is he denying the Catholic doctrine on marriage,” he adds.
Asked if this declaration is a first step towards the acceptance of homosexual behavior or the equation of marriage with unions between people of the same sex, Cardinal Fernández was blunt.
“That perception is totally incorrect, and whoever says it has either not read the text or has ‘bad temper’, allow me the expression. The statement states clearly and ad nauseam that these are non-ritualized blessings, so that they are not interpreted as a marriage.”