The Priestly Blessing of Homosexual Unions

It’s easy to see why someone (especially with a misunderstanding of blessings) might think the blessing of a homosexual union would be a good thing. One might conjecture that it would help the couple to progress towards grace. Others might also reason that it would show solidarity with same-sex people. Some might say it’s simply an extension of goodwill to the couple rather than a full acceptance of same-sex unions. They might even say it’s okay to approve of sin for a greater good. These arguments miss the point of what a blessing truly is. A blessing, especially when offered by a minister, is an invocation of God’s favor and a real sign of his approval.

What is a blessing?

First, it is important to note that a blessing is a type of sacramental and must be understood in that context. In explanation of sacramentals, paragraph 1667 of the Catechism states, “By [sacramentals] men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy.” A sacramental is meant to open us to God especially through the reception of the sacraments. It makes certain moments in life holy. Blessings range from prayers and actions like crossing oneself to rosaries and religious statues.

In one sense a blessing is like a prayer for divine graces. For instance, as the website Catholic Culture says in a way unique to his ordination, a priest’s blessing “bestows what is called actual grace – that divine energy which the soul needs in the countless emergencies and difficulties of our daily struggle with the devil, sin, and our own fallen nature.” There’s another sense in which a blessing is a sign and invocation of God’s favor or approval. Jacob and Esau, Cain and Abel and other biblical characters bear witness to this understanding. It is this understanding that has the most bearing concerning the Vatican’s decree.

Why can’t priests give a blessing to homosexual unions?

Now, let’s turn to the decree. The Vatican states, “it is necessary that what is blessed be objectively and positively ordered to receive and express grace” and “only those realities which are in themselves ordered to serve those ends are congruent with the essence of the blessing imparted by the Church.” In other words, a blessing can’t “stick” to a homosexual union. However, it can stick to your pet on St. Francis’ feast day. An animal, unlike a same-sex union, does not go against God’s ends. This implies it is same-sex unions that reject grace by rejecting God’s order.

The Vatican further clarifies that a priest cannot bless “stable” same-sex relationships with “positive elements”. Thus, a priest cannot bless the “good” or “more ordered” elements of a homosexual union. A priest cannot do this because any blessing would be more or less an acknowledgment of the equivalency between same-sex unions and marriage. To paraphrase the letter, same-sex relationships are in no way comparable to marriage. They stand firmly outside of the Creator’s plan and his order. A priest can and even should bless a dysfunctional marriage, but he shouldn’t bless even a “functioning” same-sex union. The one has the chance to reach order; the other, in a state of permanent disorder, does not. One enjoys right order though sinful. The other stands outside of God’s order and needs to stop.

But is a blessing really the same as giving approval?

The Vatican is also aware of those who might wish to interpret the blessing as something other than approval for a same-sex relationship. In fact, the decree makes a distinction between a blessing that would invoke protection on the same-sex couple and a blessing that would acknowledge and approve the union. It writes, “the blessing would manifest not the intention to entrust such individual persons to the protection and help of God, in the sense mentioned above, but to approve and encourage a choice and a way of life that cannot be recognized as objectively ordered to the revealed plans of God.” In this explanation, the Vatican makes this distinction clear.

Again, this is very different from a layperson wishing the best for a same-sex couple, a wish made without the approval of the union. It is even different from a person with same-sex attraction asking for a blessing. All of these things would be fine and even good to do.

Can God bless our sins?

At root, the reason that a priest cannot bless a same-sex union is because God does not bless sin. God does bless sinners, but he does not bless sinful behavior. In many ways, it’s equivalent to saying love the sinner but hate the sin. In the words of the document 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. He in fact ‘takes us as we are, but never leaves us as we are.’” These words lead us back to the purpose of sacramentals. Sacramentals should prepare us for the sacraments. Ultimately, they aim to lead us to sanctifying grace.

Challenging those in sin

With Pope Francis, we’ve experienced a lot of confusion about just what accompaniment means. At times, it has almost seemed to be equated with blessing sin. Here, I think, the Vatican is making a good distinction between the kind of accompaniment that condones sin and the kind that sets a higher bar. The Vatican is not saying that grace is inaccessible to people in same-sex relationships. It is saying that a same-sex union complete with physical intimacy is 1) not in any way equivalent to marriage and 2) not approved by the Church.

Today, we’re faced with two choices. Either we say that homosexual behavior can make people happy or we say that it will never lead to happiness. The secular culture would like to make approval the norm and disapproval illegal – see the ongoing fiasco with the cake baker. We cannot cave into this demand.