The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is formally responding to a question about whether Catholic clergy have the authority to bless gay unions.
In a decree published Monday and approved by Pope Francis, the Church explained that homosexual union is not part of God's plan and must not be confused with marriage which can only occur between a man and woman for purposes of procreation and love.
The two-page explanation distinguishes between the church’s welcoming of homosexual individuals to the Church, and the rejection of the sinful act of consummating a homosexual union by those individuals. God "cannot bless sin" the document explained.
The Vatican holds that homosexual individuals must be treated with dignity and respect, but that homosexual sex is “intrinsically disordered.” Catholic teaching says that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and woman, part of God’s plan intended for the sake of creating new life. And Bible teachings undergird church doctrine.
Since a homosexual union isn’t intended for the sake of creating new life, it can’t be blessed by the church, the document stated. “The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan.”
God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognize that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him,” the document explains.
The document states that any union that involves sexual activity outside of marriage cannot be blessed because it is not in a state of grace, or “ordered to both receive and express the good that is pronounced and given by the blessing." It added that blessing a same-sex union could give the impression of a sort of sacramental equivalence to marriage. “This would be erroneous and misleading.”
The decree was warmly welcomed by conservative Catholics who were not happy with the Pope's embrace of liberal and even communist policies in various nations. Conservatives were worried that the Pope will bend to pressure from left-wing LGBT groups who have been lobbying Vatican to change its stance on homosexual lifestyle.
Bill Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League, praised the decision as a decisive, non-negotiable “end of story” declaration by the Vatican.
“The Vatican left nothing on the table. The door has been slammed shut on the gay agenda,” Donohue wrote on the League’s website, calling the document “the most decisive rejection of those efforts ever written.”
Right-wing activist Milo Yiannopoulos, a gay man and Catholic himself, welcomed the decree. "Once in a blue moon the Vatican actually says something catholic," he wrote on Gab.
Many 'woke' left-wing groups and activists unsurprising attacked the decree.
Homosexual CNN talk show host Don Lemon absurdly claimed the "God is not about judging people."
Appearing on ABC's The View , the left-wing host arrogantly told co-host Meghan McCain that the church and other religious sects "really need to re-examine themselves and their teachings." He implied that they believe in "something that hurts another person."
Conservatives mocked Lemon's dumb comments pointing out that he is literally arguing with the Bible which forms the basis for the catholic church's decree against homosexual degeneracy.