Pope comments on the document blessing gay couples
Pope Francis. Photo: CNN
On January 26, 2023, Pope Francis commented on the meaning of the controversial Fiducia Supplicans declaration, which prescribes the blessing of LGBT couples, to members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican news reports.
According to the Pope, the purpose of "pastoral and spontaneous blessings" is to "concretely show the closeness of the Lord and the Church to all those who, finding themselves in different situations, ask for help to continue—sometimes to begin—a journey of faith."
He stated that these blessings should be "outside of any liturgical context and form" and "do not require moral perfection to be received."
The pontiff also emphasized that "when a couple spontaneously approaches [a minister] and asks for them, he is not blessing the union, but simply the people who together have requested it."
Earlier, the UOJ discussed the Vatican's declaration on blessing gay couples in the article "Vatican and Same-Sex Couples: Do They Bless or Not?"
Read also
First words and photos after Bishop Arseniy's release published online
The abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, after a year and ten months of imprisonment, offered praise to the Most Holy Theotokos for his release.
In Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, UOC hierarch reads Great Canon near seized church
Bishop Antony performed the Great Penitential Canon together with believers near a closed church in the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC.
His Beatitude reads third part of Great Canon at St Florus Convent
The Primate of the UOC led the Great Compline with the reading of the Penitential Canon at the St. Florus Convent in Kyiv.
UOC lawyer thanks U.S. politicians for Metropolitan Arseniy’s release
Amsterdam gave special mention to Orthodox public and political figures in the United States who spoke out in defense of the UOC hierarch.
82-year-old UGCC nun killed in Brazil
In Brazil’s state of Paraná, a man broke into a UGCC convent and killed 82-year-old Sister Nadiia Havanska. The tragedy has stirred the Ukrainian community.
MP Mazurashu proposes establishing a Bible Day in Ukraine
MP Heorhiy Mazurashu is proposing to add a Bible Day to Ukraine’s list of commemorative dates, without introducing an additional day off.