Vatican stands firm on Monday that the Catholic Church will not bless same-sex unions in a statement approved by Pope Francis.
The statement is feared to create a further divide between the Catholic Church and the LGBT community.
The Holy See referred to homosexuality as a “choice,” suggested it is sinful and said it “cannot be recognized as objectively ordered” to God’s plans.
The stand is expected to disappoint millions of gay and lesbian Catholics around the world.
“The blessing of homosexual unions cannot be considered licit,” the Vatican said in a statement.
God “does not and cannot bless sin,” the statement added.
The statement is also contradictory to what Pope Francis has been advocating and welcoming tone towards the LGBT people.
“It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage, as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex,” the statement added.
The Church said that same-sex people cannot get their blessings from the church unless they live according to the Church’s teachings.
“It does not preclude the blessings given to individual persons with homosexual inclinations, who manifest the will to live in fidelity to the revealed plans of God as proposed by Church teaching,” the statement said.
“God Himself never ceases to bless each of His pilgrim children in this world … but he does not and cannot bless sin,” the church added. (TDT)
