COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Vatican’s Monday announcement that the Pope will allow same-sex blessings came as a surprise to many.
These blessings are not to be confused with a marriage ceremony. The Vatican made it very clear in the announcement that all efforts must be made to ensure that there isn’t any confusion between how the blessings are conducted and the Sacrament of Marriage rites of the Catholic Church.
The document holding the blessing announcement comes from the Vatican’s doctrine office and elaborates on Pope Francis’ letter to two cardinals from back in October. It stressed these blessings are not to use any set rituals, vestments or gestures that belong in the wedding rites of the Church.
10TV reached out to several of the dioceses making up the state of Ohio.
The Diocese of Steubenville said the announcement was a surprise to them Monday morning. The Diocese of Toledo said they would let the Vatican’s announcement speak for itself and referenced to the write-up from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati has not yet responded.
Ohio-based LOVEboldly’s mission is to bridge the gap and create spaces for the LGBTQ+ community in Christian churches.
Executive Director Ben Huelskamp said this is a small step forward for the Catholic Church.
“I can believe there are many LGBTQ Catholics out there that see this as a sign of hope,” said Huelskamp. “There's a lot of us who want to be involved in church, but we've been excluded from those churches. This gives us an opportunity, perhaps not the church we grew up in, but some sort of church.”
Huelskamp went on to say while this is a step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go.
“I liken this to much more to a Catholic priest blessing a married couple on their 50th wedding anniversary than really imparting anything we might call a civil union, partnership or marriage,” said Huelskamp. “I think the important thing here is, however we judge this decision or this declaration, is it’s a sign of hope. It’s a step in the right direction, perhaps a slower step than other denominations, but it’s a sign of hope.”
Several Protestant denominations have made decisions on same-sex marriage.
The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church USA and the United Church of Christ are just a few currently allowing same-sex marriages in their churches. The United Methodist Church is embattled in a church split over the issue.
“There had been leadership and the full life of the queer community in the church, so it made sense that they would be able to participate in the full life of the church,” said Reverend Ted Dearing, the rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Columbus. “Like the Roman Catholic Church, we hold that marriage is a sacrament and that God’s grace shows up in a unique way in marriage.”
Dearing said while the Episcopal Church had allowed the involvement of the LGBTQIA community in the church for several years, the 2015 decision to allow same-sex marriage brought some growing pains.
“To be able to extend that to all who were coming into the church that they could participate and enjoy the gift of God that comes through marriage seemed to make sense for most people. Certainly, there were some who had their challenges who left because of the decision,” he said.
The letter from the Vatican makes no suggestion that the Roman Catholic Church is moving toward performing same-sex marriages and holds that the Church’s definition of marriage remains the “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children.”
The announcement of these blessings comes with mixed reviews. Some Catholics have said this is taking the Church in the wrong direction, while others have said this decision is long overdue.