This understanding of the blessings can happen that “the ordained minister joins in the prayer of those people who, although they are in a union that in no way can be compared to marriage, wish to entrust themselves to the Lord and his mercy, to invoke his help, to allow themselves to be guided. towards a greater understanding of his plan of love and life.”
The DDF maintains that couples seeking a blessing from God in this context “do not claim the legitimacy of their own status”, but they ask that “everything that is true, good and humanly valid in their lives and relationships, be invested, sanctified and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit.”
Guidance for blessings
The declaration offers several conditions for blessing same-sex couples and those in “irregular situations” in order to “not produce confusion with the blessing of the sacrament of marriage.”
First, these blessings must be “non-ritualized” and must not be expressed in any formal rite by ecclesial authorities.
In fact, he points out, ritualization “would constitute a serious impoverishment, because it would subject a gesture of great value in popular piety to excessive control, which would deprive ministers of freedom and spontaneity in accompanying people’s lives.”
Furthermore, he explicitly warned that no one should “promote or provide for a ritual” for these blessings.
“To avoid any form of confusion or scandal,” it continues, “this blessing will never be performed at the same time as the civil rites of union, nor in connection with them,” nor with “clothes, gestures or words typical of a marriage.” ”.
Instead, the DDF envisages that blessings of same-sex couples and those in irregular situations would occur “spontaneously”, suggesting that they could take place in the context of “visiting a shrine, meeting a priest, praying recited in a group or during a pilgrimage.”
The DDF maintains that with such blessings “the intention is not to legitimize anything, but only to open one’s life to God, ask for his help to live better and also invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the Gospel are lived more faithfully.”
The “pastoral sensitivity” of ordained ministers should be trained to offer these types of spontaneous blessings, indicated the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.