Vatican Says that Priests May Now Bless Queer Couples

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Vatican announced Monday that Catholic priests will be allowed to bless the unions of same sex couples. It’s seen as an important step toward a more inclusive approach to LGBTQ+ church members, but is not the same as a marriage sacrament, which is a formal ceremonial rite. The Vatican emphasized it does not amend “the traditional doctrine of the church about marriage” and should not be connected to a civil union or marriage-like ceremony. Still, it’s being cheered by more liberal members of the Church as a step in the right direction. We’ll examine Pope Francis’ new position and the reaction to it. Guests: Michael O'Loughlin, national correspondent and associate editor, America: The Jesuit Review; former reporter on the Catholic church, Boston Globe and Crux; author, "Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear" Harriet Ryan, investigative reporter, Los Angeles Times; author, "The fight to move the Catholic Church in America to the right — and the little-known O.C. lawyer behind it" Philip Pullella, vatican correspondent, Reuters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:04.3	Coming up on forum, a major change in policy from Pope Francis, who announced Monday that priests
1:09.9	will be allowed to bless the unions of same-sex couples.
1:12.6	It's seen as an important step toward a more inclusive approach to LGBTQ church members, but there are some qualifications.
1:20.6	The blessing is not the same as a marriage sacrament, and the Vatican said the blessing should not be connected to a civil union or marriage-like
1:28.2	ceremony. Still, it's being cheered by more liberal members of the church as a step in the right
1:33.2	direction, even as the conservative archbishop in San Francisco signals he doesn't like it.
1:38.8	The Vatican's new approach to same-sex unions and reaction to it next after this news.
1:46.2	This is Forum. I'm Scott Schaefer in Formina Kim. And this hour, we're going to dig into
1:50.9	what seems like a major shift from the Catholic Church. You know, for years, Pope Francis
1:55.9	has signaled his desire to make the church less rigid and more welcoming to those who feel
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