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Haiti - FLASH : The Vatican authorizes the blessing of homosexual couples, reactions from the bishops of Haiti 24/12/2023 06:54:10 In the "Fiducia supplican" Pope Francis specifies "38. [...] one should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation. At the same time, one should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing. In a brief prayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance—but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely. 39. In any case, precisely to avoid any form of confusion or scandal, when the prayer of blessing is requested by a couple in an irregular situation, even though it is expressed outside the rites prescribed by the liturgical books, this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.The same applies when the blessing is requested by a same-sex couple. 40. Such a blessing may instead find its place in other contexts, such as a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a prayer recited in a group, or during a pilgrimage. Indeed, through these blessings that are given not through the ritual forms proper to the liturgy but as an expression of the Church’s maternal heart—similar to those that emanate from the core of popular piety—there is no intention to legitimize anything, but rather to open one’s life to God, to ask for his help to live better, and also to invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the Gospel may be lived with greater faithfulness. […] » Download the full text of "Fiducia supplicans" (PDF in English) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Fiducia-supplicans-sur-la-signification-pastorale-des-benedictions-EN.pdf This is the first time that the Church has opened the way to blessing same-sex couples, even though it considers homosexual relations to be a sin, a decision that has sparked strong opposition in the United States, particularly from the conservative fringe... In Haiti, the Conference of Haitian Bishops in a note published on December 21, 2023 recalls "No right is granted to priests to bless homosexual couples who request a kind of religious recognition of their union" emphasizing that "marriage is the legitimate, exclusive and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, a union naturally open to procreation." Note from the Catholic Bishops of Haiti : "Following the Declaration 'Fiducia supplicans' on the pastoral meaning of blessings, published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on December 18, 2023, We, the Catholic Bishops of Haiti, consider it appropriate to give this clarification to all Catholics, to men and women of good will : The Declaration of the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith distinguishes between liturgical or sacramental blessings and pastoral blessings. On the one hand, liturgical or sacramental blessings granted as part of a church celebration, such as the blessing of marriage which is reserved only for a man and a woman having the desire to found a family according to God's plan and the unchanged doctrine of the Catholic Church. In this sense the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage remains firm, namely that marriage is the legitimate, exclusive and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, a union naturally open to procreation (cf. Genesis 1, 27-28; Mark 10, 7-9). So don't be upset. brothers and sisters in the Catholic faith. On the other hand, pastoral blessings given spontaneously by an ordained minister should not be withheld from anyone. They can be granted without distinction to all people who wish to receive the grace of God's merciful love in their lives. For this, we urge ordained ministers (priests, deacons) to ensure that ordinary pastoral blessings, non-liturgical or non-sacramental, given to anyone who requests them spontaneously, are not granted in a manner likely to interpret them as a liturgical or semi-liturgical act, similar to a sacrament. In this sense, unions between people of the same sex are not entitled to receive the blessing of marriage from the Catholic Church (Fiducia Supplicans, n.31). No right is granted to priests to bless homosexual couples who request some sort of religious recognition of their union. The Church cannot dispose of God's plans for marriage (cf. Commentary on Responsum ad dubium, March 15, 2021). Even following this declaration of the Dicastery, our Catholic Church remains faithful to this exhortation of Saint Paul to Timothy: "Keep the deposit of Faith in all its beauty, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us" (2 Timothy 1:14). May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Educator, Model of unshakeable Faith in God, come to our aid and accompany the Church of Her Beloved Son in its mission to lead each human person to God! Given, at the Headquarters of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti (CEH). on December 21, 2023. » The signatures of the Catholic Bishops of Haiti follow: Mgr. Max Leroy MÉSIDOR: Metropolitan Archbishop of Port-au-Prince President of the CEH Mgr. Pierre André DUMAS: Bishop of Anse-à-Veau / Miragoâne Vice-President of the CEH Mgr. Joseph Gontrand DÉCOSTE, SJ: Bishop of Jeremiah Secretary General of the CEH Mgr. Désinord JEAN: Bishop of Hinche Bursar of the CEH Chibly Cardinal LANGLOIS: Bishop of Cayes Advise Mgr. Yves Marie PÉAN, CSC: Bishop of Gonaïves Mgr. Launay SATURNÉ: Metropolitan Archbishop of Cap-Haïtien Mgr. Marie Érick Glandas TOUSSAINT: Bishop of Jacmel Mgr. Quesnel ALPHONSE, SMM: Bishop of Fort-Liberté Mgr. Charles Peters BARTHELUS: Bishop of Port-de-Paix HL/ HaitiLibre
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