A group of Catholic priests promises to bless same-sex unions in defiance of recent Vatican directives.
The group, called the Parish Priests Initiative, said in a statement it was “deeply appalled” by the decision and pledged “not to reject any loving couple who ask to celebrate God’s blessing”. . according to Reuters.
“We, members of the Parish Priests Initiative, are deeply appalled by the new Roman decree which seeks to ban the blessing of same-sex couples. It is a relapse into an era we hoped to overcome with Pope Francis,” the band reportedly said.
“We will not reject – in solidarity with so many – any loving couple in the future who ask to celebrate God’s blessing, which they experience every day, also in worship,” they continued.
The Austria-based group was founded in 2006 and claims to have 350 official church members and more than 3,000 lay supporters, Reuters reported.
The group has previously advocated for the Catholic Church to allow priests to marry and women to become priests.
The Vatican declared monday that the Roman Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions. He said in a statement that recognizing same-sex unions could appear to equate them with the sacrament between the union of a man and a woman, which would be “erroneous and misleading”.
However, the Church has emphasized that “negative judgment on the blessing of same-sex unions does not imply judgment on persons.”
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