God is not the author of confusion, as for Pope Francis…

Life, as we rational beings know, can be overtly complex.  Much of it is of our own doing. Thankfully, though a mystery, our God is one and simple, and not the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33).  The Holy Father, on the other hand, has confused many people recently.  Once again, he has declared his proclivity - to show love to all people everywhere - by allowing priests to “bless” same-sex couples.  Showing love is right, yet how we show that love is another story altogether.  In promoting his personal compassion for the LGBTQ+ community, Pope Francis has muddied the waters of doctrinal clarity; both within the Church, and in the world.

Ask any unbeliever (at least in the West) what constitutes “sin” for a Christian and they can expound on our many regulations, particularly in the realm of morality.  Even the most unchurched person has an idea of the Ten Commandments.  What happens, then, when an official representative of the Church, like the Vicar of Christ in this instance, appears to affirm what even the world knows is sinful conduct for Christians? 

Confusion.

When the Pope expressed this opinion, the Church had doubts and the world joyfully reported that, “The Pope is blessing same-sex couples!”

Sigh.

The resulting chaos has reflected poorly on the Body of Christ.  For those of us in the Church (who are practicing celibates because we know Sacred Scripture and Tradition) his comments are perplexing at best – so much so that follow-up discussions had to take place.  For those outside the Church, his comment appeared to say that the Church is one step closer to sanctifying gay marriage; like the Anglicans.  This effect, of confusion and false hope, reminds me of a song by Hall & Oates, where they sing, “Some things are better left unsaid.”

I read all 45 points of Pope Francis’ Declaration Fiducia Supplicans (On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings) and his redress of the Dubia (doubts) from several cardinals and bishops regarding this blessing.  At this juncture, it would be best to understand what a blessing is, and when it should not be encouraged by any practicing Catholic, particularly clerics.

There are basically two sacramental blessings observed in the Church: invocative and constitutive. 

An Invocative blessing is a general and unconditional blessing on behalf of some spiritual or temporal good.  It is not restricted to clergy. For ordinary laypersons, an example might be blessing your child, or if a person sneezes and you say, “God bless you.”  A parent blesses their child from a position of love and concern for their welfare.  When a person sneezes, we are merely invoking a cultural idiom based on an archaic concept that a sneeze expels a portion of your soul.  (There is no harm if the sneezer happens to be an atheist!)  In this category, too, would fall a priest who presides at a blessing over a graduation or a football team.  Make sense?

The second blessing, constitutive, is much more restrictive.  It is liturgical and reserved for persons and objects sanctified for the service of the Church.  For example, a novitiate taking final vows or a vessel (e.g. ciborium) dedicated for sacred service.   This blessing is conditional, and strictly regulated to bishops, priests, and sometimes deacons to convey.

So then, which of these two would a same-sex couple blessing fall under?  According to the Pope, it falls under the first definition.  But there-in lies the crux.  Should any official representative of the Church provide an unconditional blessing on a person or persons who seek it, when all parties understand that the circumstance of the blessing includes habitual sinful conduct? 

If the Church, in her capacity to bless, does so in the full understanding of a habitual sin (individual or coupled), without a call to repent and “sin no more,” then we must also argue that the same “blessing” should be available for any person or persons in any circumstance.   This is a slippery slope.

When a practicing Catholic enters the confessional, one of the first things said is, “Bless me father, for I have sinned.” We confess, repent, absolved, and exhorted to sin no more.  If we are to turn from sin, why should others not be so instructed for the sake of their very soul? 

Let’s look at a situation that occurred between Jesus and a Jewish woman.

When Jesus was confronted by the scribes and Pharisees in St. John, Chapter 8 (regarding a woman caught in adultery) the scribes and Pharisees dragged a woman into the temple courts and confronted Jesus, asking him if she should be stoned (according to the Law of Moses).  Jesus stooped down and began writing in the sand, and when they continued to pester him for an answer, he straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.” And again He bent down and wrote on the ground. The accusers began to leave one by one, and when the last left, he stood up again and asked the woman, “Where are your accusers – has no one condemned you?”  She said, “No one, Lord,” and Jesus said, “Then neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more.”

Jesus did not condemn the woman, but he did exhort her to sin no more.  Jesus, as God, showed love and compassion toward this woman, who was likely not one of his followers, but his non-condemnation certainly did not unconditionally “bless” her current situation. 

The Church has no place blessing a sinful circumstance, or one with even the appearance of sin.  If the Pope thinks that blessing same-sex unions is an act of showing God’s love, I can think of a dozen other ways to do the same without affirming the appearance of what is clearly a sinful relationship. For with God, even the appearance of sin should be avoided.  Consider St. Paul’s letter to the Church at Thessalonia, where he exhorts Christians to “Abstain from every form of evil,” (5:22). The word “form” here is the Greek eidous which may be translated as form, shape or appearance of.

Pope Francis’ Fiducia Supplicans (On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings) has attempted to clarify his prior comments regarding same-sex couple blessing, yet its’ 45 points shows just how chaotic his opinion (and response to Dubia) has played out.  No one can deny the first portion of #33, “God never turns away anyone who approaches him!”  However, with respect, I disagree with the following sentence, “Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God.”

How does a priestly blessing, and in this instance, blessing what the document refers to as an “irregular situation” – increase a person’s trust in God?   By his desire to “expand” the meaning of sacramental blessings – in order to meet the needs of today’s various cultures – the Holy Father has only succeeded in diluting a precious sacramental, and creating unnecessary confusion.