The Spokesperson of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) has said that “giving a blessing to couples in an irregular situation,” does not legitimize their union.

In a message explaining the December 18 declaration on the pastoral meaning of blessings Fiducia Supplicans issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope Francis, Cardinal Stephen Brislin of Cape Town Archdiocese said, “The document deals with blessings, the history of blessings, and the meaning of blessings in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and in the practice of the Catholic Church.”

“And in particular It deals with blessings to couples who are in irregular situations including same-sex unions,” he added.

Cardinal Brislin went on to say the document “reaffirms the teaching of the church very, very clearly, that marriage is an exclusive, stable and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children.”

“Anything that contradicts that is inadmissible, so giving a blessing to couples in a union is not to legitimize their union and great care must be taken, if couples are given a blessing by a pastor, that there is no confusion that in some way this is legitimizing their union or that it is a marriage,” he stressed.

In the December 20 message shared with the SACBC Communication Office, Cardinal Brislin referred to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 2021 March 15 responsum to the question “Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?”

He said, “I think in 2021 (the dicastery) made it very clear that the Church does not have the power to impart blessings on unions of persons of the same sex. However, the present Declaration poses the question: can couples receive a blessing from the church, even if they are in a same-sex union?”

“The Declaration notes that when people spontaneously request a blessing, it is in fact an act of faith, an act of belief in God and also trusting God that through a blessing, a person is strengthened and protected.” Said Cardinal Brislin, and added, “Furthermore, a blessing is an indication that a person realizes that he or she cannot rely on his or her own strength alone and that we are all in need of the grace of God.”

Cardinal Brislin went on to mention a couple of reasons why people ask for blessings from a priest/pastor, “many people go to a priest to ask for a blessing. Sometimes people are writing exams or there’s somebody ill in the family. Perhaps there is a family issue, or somebody is taking a journey, or for some other special need, and so they ask for a blessing.”

“When a blessing is given there’s not an interrogation made about the person’s moral standing or their moral perfection. It is usually simply given in simple words. The Dicastery is saying yes, blessings can be given to couples who are in same-sex unions, or indeed in other irregular unions. Blessings bring people closer to God,” he explained.

He warned that “there can be no confusion that this is in some way a marriage or any moral recognition of the legitimacy of the marriage. And therefore, if a blessing is given, it can never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremony of a civil union, or not even in connection with a ceremony of a civil union. Nor can it be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.”

“When a blessing is requested by a same-sex couple it cannot be confused with a wedding or with legitimising that union. But it can be a recognition that the people who are requesting the blessing are children of God loved by God and not excluded from his love, nor excluded from his grace,” said Cardinal Brislin.

The SACBC spokesperson further said, “The document states that the blessing should not be a ritual that is issued by the Bishop or by the Bishop’s Conference or any authority. It should be left to the pastor to spontaneously give a simple blessing that could be done at a shrine, on a pilgrimage, or in a prayer group.”

“In essence, this is what the document deals with and its grounding principle is that nobody is excluded from the love of God,” he added.