Dissident Priests Defy Vatican, Vow To Bless Same-Sex Unions

On Tuesday, a group of “dissident” Roman Catholic priests that are leading a disobedience effort against the Vatican said that they will continue to bless same-sex couples in a direct act against the orders of the Catholic Church released on Monday.

Earlier this week, the Vatican announced that priests are not allowed to bless same-sex unions, stating that blessings carried out in this way would not be considered valid.

The Daily Wire’s Joseph Curl reported on the Vatican’s declaration on Monday as the Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), responded to an inquiry about whether Catholic clergy are allowed to bless same-sex unions.

In its answer, the CDF said, “The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan.”

God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognize that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him,” it said.

The Daily Wire reports, “The church has previously welcomed gay people into its fold but does not recognize their unions as marriages. Instead, Catholic doctrine teaches that marriage is a union between a man and woman.”

Reuters reports that in some nations, ministers and parishes had started to bless same-sex unions instead of marriage. Some have spoken out in favor of bishops taking action to “institutionalise de facto such blessings,” but conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church have expressed concern over such acts.

He has not been excommunicated but the possibility has been discussed.