Vatican bars gay union blessing, says God 'can't bless sin'

I have been wondering where the Vatican was going with this issue, because they seem to have been going more and more liberal, but now it seems they have decided stick to the Biblical principles. For now anyway....


Vatican bars gay union blessing, says God 'can't bless sin'
https://news.yahoo.com/vatican-excludes-gay-union-blessing-113840931.html
ROME (AP) — The Vatican decreed Monday that the Catholic Church won't bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.”

The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy have the authority to bless gay unions. The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was “negative.”

The note distinguished between the church’s welcoming and blessing of gay people, which it upheld, but not their unions. It argued that such unions are not part of God's plan and that any such sacramental recognition could be confused with marriage.

 

So gay people can be blessed, but their marriage cannot. Good to know they are consistent. Another reason that I am a 'fallen away' Catholic. I don't need to participate in a church to have my faith - especially when that church seems to be so hypocritical.

 

Biblical speaking it is the right answer.

 

Even more evidence that religion is nutty, and catholics rank even higher on the nutty scale than do your average religious folks. I do not understand how anybody with an IQ above about 3 can look at what the various religions have to say, and with the realizations that time and science have given us (such as the idea that diseases are caused by viruses and bacteria, not angering some sky-daddy because of inappropriate behavior) and still believe that the bronze age goat herders had an unchanging monopoly on what "god" really was, or is, or means, or intends.

And I say all of this as a person who believes that our consciousness not only exists after our physical death, I've actually BEEN there! But my previous (and hopefully future) promiscuity was not of any concern to whatever the "higher power" actually is, as if we could even know such a thing. The very thought is not only preposterous, it's downright arrogant.

 

Former Catholic here. It's beyond ridiculous. Historically, one of the "cures" for homosexuality was to encourage conflicted young men to go into priesthood. Then they bend over backwards to cover up sexual abuse complaints. So, apparently it's okay to be molest little boys (something ugly and evil) but it's not okay to bless the marriages of homosexual people (something beautiful based in love)? Sounds about right for the Catholic Church.

 

I dont think there is a contradiction. Jesus Himself said he came here for the sinner, so the church should also welcome sinners of all walks of live, but they should not (and cannot, based on Romans 1:32) condone/approve/bless their decision to continue to live in willful and habitual sin.

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance".

 

The Catholic church, or any church for that matter can choose to follow or not follow the Bible. It is then up to the Congregants if they wish to remain within their current church, or move to another denomination. The thing with organized religion is that money is required to operate.

If following the Bible means that the money supply dries up, then you will see organized religions move away from the Bible.

 

Sorry - but when an institution chooses to ignore human advancement in favor of a book of dubious origins, they lose me.

 

Gonna file this one under "could care less".

 

how much less could you care?

 

That is fine. Church attendance is no longer mandatory in US.

 

Believe it or not, I thought of you when I read that comment because I remembered what you said about that phrase previously. LOL

 

I'm also recovering from Catholic.

The Church doesn't think sex should be for pleasure. It's only for baby making. Why, then, does the church not require a fertility test before blessing a marriage? Why do they bless marriages of widows who are past their child bearing years?

 

lol

We all have our touchy spots. This one is particularly annoying to me.

 

Why do you think the church thinks marriage is only for baby making?

1 Corinthians 7:2 “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.”

"“It is not good for man to be alone"

 

Short answer - Power crazed, pedophile enabling, misogynistic, self-righteous hypocrites.

 

Sure - it's fine for me. It doesn't affect me personally. I do, however, feel badly for all the gay folks who have been faithful followers of the Catholic Church (including countless priests) who feel as though the Church has turned their back on them. No - I'm not suggesting 'cancelling' - but I think the institution is moving itself closer and closer to irrelevance and obscurity.

 

You make it sound like this is something new. Its not. Vast majority of churches do not marry gays.

Do you feel bad for vegetarians in a steakhouse? Does it make sense for them to complain about the menu?

 

Oh, the depths of it cannot be plumbed.....

 

As a non Catholic, follower of Jesus I have to admit the Vatican is right on this one. The Church should be open to sinners because we are ALL sinners (though we do not all walk in sin) to bless the sinful union is a totally different thing.

 

You make too much sense. Don't expect a generation that is confused about their gender to ever embrace that.

 

Guess the Catholic Church must have banned the "Song of Solomon". I've read it and I beg to differ with them.

 

So the people that believe we were born sinners because a talking snake convinced a naked lady to eat an apple thousands of years ago, have another belief.

 

Are you comparing the participation of the faithful in a church to going to a restaurant?

 

Lukewarm papists are trying to compromise in an attempt to appeal to both homosexuals and Biblical Christians.

God does NOT compromise and will spit lukewarm compromisers out of His mouth!

Both the OT and NT clearly condemn homosexuality as an abomination.

The Bible definition of "sin" is the transgression of God's law.

Here is what God's law says:

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."

Leviticus 20:13

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