At a press conference on Friday in the Vatican, he said that the corresponding Vatican document, Fiducia supplicants, was a reaction to some discussions at the Synod Assembly last year.

"As with many things Pope Francis did last year, he has not waited for the final document. He has already responded to things that were mentioned in the discussions and in the final report of the past year."

The second and final meeting of the Synod of the World Synod is currently in session in the Vatican until the end of October.

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The bishops of Flanders also published a liturgy for the celebration of homosexual unions.

"In doing so, they are going directly against the Vatican," reported the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad.

The Vatican clarified in March 2021 that the Catholic Church does not have the power to give liturgical blessings of homosexual unions.

The Flemish bishops say they created the liturgy to make the church more inclusive and welcoming.

The document, titled "Being Pastorally Close to Homosexual Persons: For a welcoming church that excludes no one," was published on 20 September on the website of the bishops' conference of Belgium.

It states that same-sex relationships, which are not considered sacramental marriages by the Catholic Church, can nonetheless be a source of joy and happiness for the couple.

The publication cites "The Joy of Love," the 2016 apostolic exhortation in which Pope Francis wrote that the church needs to accompany families with LGBT members better, so that "those who manifest a homosexual orientation can receive the assistance they need to understand and fully carry out God's will in their lives".

The bishops of the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium also announced that each diocese will appoint a person as "concrete response and fulfilment to the desire to give explicit attention to the situation of homosexual persons, their parents and families in the conduct of policy.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued its latest declaration on same-sex blessings on March 15, 2021, in a document known as a Responsum ad dubium ("Response to a question").

In reply to the query, "Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?" the CDF answered, "Negative."

The congregation outlined its reasoning in an explanatory note and accompanying commentary.

The Vatican statement, issued with the approval of Pope Francis, sparked protests and open defiance in the German-speaking Catholic world.

German priests and pastoral workers also openly defied the Vatican and conducted blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.

The Belgian prayers were published as Catholic dioceses around the world are finalising reports about listening sessions with lay Catholics, which are part of the pope's synodal process. Bishops in many countries said that the treatment of LGBT Catholics and their families arose in many listening sessions, including some in the United States.

"The hope for a welcoming church expressed itself clearly with the desire to accompany with authenticity LGBTQ+ persons and their families," reads a report published yesterday by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops summarising the listening sessions held throughout the United States.

"In order to become a more welcoming Church, there is a deep need for ongoing discernment of the whole Church on how best to accompany our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters."

Sources

Catholic News Agency

America Magazine

Kolgraf says that answer has led him to think the Catholic Church needs a new pastoral approach to homosexual couples.

After becoming a bishop in 2017, Kolgraf says he was soon made aware that many different forms of blessings for homosexual couples already existed "and would continue to exist".

The purpose of these blessings was to "Bless what is good in their lives," he found.

"They [the blessings] are not modelled on Catholic liturgical wedding ceremonies, nor do they aim to achieve one standardized liturgy. Instead, the priests who accompanied such couples bless what is good in their lives," Kohlgraf explains.

This was why he supported the publication of a collection of blessing ceremonials for gay couples titled "Couples, Rites, Church" published last November.

Although he acknowledges most of the blessing ceremonials are "against Church law", Kohlgraf says they will continue to be used.

The focus on blessings for homosexual couples had increased markedly in the German Church in recent years.

In Kohlgraf's view, it would make little sense if he, as the bishop responsible, were to nullify the blessings.

"Do I really want to break that much china for people who are believers?" he asks.

Kohlgraf's perspective on homosexuals altered after the German Bishops' Conference held a series of discussions on homosexuality in 2019.

At this, the Conference read a report from medical experts that said:"the percentage of people who feel they are homosexually oriented in society is by no means small and homosexuality is a relevant phenomenon in the animal world."

The report led Kohlgraf to ask himself: "Are people who feel homosexually oriented imperfectly created? Did God slip up?"

He says he finds it difficult to imagine that something had gone wrong in the order of creation.

However, the Church's stance is hard on homosexuals, he points out.

Few homosexuals find the Catechism of the Catholic Church's stipulation that they practice chastity as "tactful and respectful," he says.

It also states homosexuals' inclination is not of their own choosing and asks for compassion for them - a stance Kohlgraf thinks could sound condescending.

"... I am amazed by how greatly the issue of homosexuality has gained ferocity in Church debates," he says.

Other German bishops' in favor of blessing homosexual couples include Franz-Josef Bode, who was the first German bishop to speak out openly in favor of the practice. That was in 2018.

"Remaining silent or tabooing the subject gets us nowhere," he said at the time, while demanding more discussion on the issue.

That same year, Cardinal Reinhard Marx came out in favor of blessing homosexual couples in individual cases after they had been accompanied by a priest.

In 2020, Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers said he would welcome blessings for homosexual couples.

He said he was against excluding people and could understand why gay couples would want a blessing.

Source

• La Croix
• Image: National Catholic Reporter