Blessings of Same Sex Couples vs. Marriage of Same Sex Couples: Close, But the Two Are Not the Same Thing,

Love being part of a church that blesses so much. We have house blessings; blessings of pets and other animals; blessings upon a new car; blessings for people in political office.

And now, officially, there are blessings of same sex couples and our relationships by both the Church of England, and in the Roman Catholic Church, thanks to Pope Francis. Of course, that doesn’t change any of the theology, dogma, or doctrine, especially in the Catholic Church. For a refresher course: In the Catholic church, homosexual acts are considered acts of grave depravity and are intrinsically disordered.

A blessing of a same sex couple--while wonderful, romantic, holy in context, stupendous, lovely, fantastic, and super-duper--is not the same thing as a marriage of a same sex couple. It just isn’t. There is nothing in the US that says I can pick up a “blessing certificate” as I can a marriage license, pay my $60 (Oregon), and be married. To be married is to have a signed contract, between my husband and I and the state, and have over 1,000 laws now protect my marriage, me, and my husband. And if we had to get a divorce, it would be recorded by the state, too, just like my heterosexual marriage went through a divorce, and we had to have a settlement. One can’t undo a blessing via the state, let alone a church. I haven’t read anything in the Presbyterian Church (USA), let alone any other denomination of undoing a blessing. I guess once you are blessed as a couple, you are blessed.

Happy blessing! But it isn’t a marriage.

Again, a blessing of a same sex couple is not the same as a marriage of a same sex couple.  

Why am I blogging about this? Because, first, the Anglican Communion known as the Church of England decided to bless same sex couples, in the UK, but they did not approve of marriages of same sex couples in the Church of England (Dec., 2023). Same sex couples can be married in the Episcopal Church of the US, as well as getting a blessing, no doubt. But the Episcopal Church and the Church of England are two different governance bodies because the US is not the UK, and vice versa.

Here’s a link to that story: https://apnews.com/article/church-of-england-same-sex-blessings-518f273db2a5c16cd44798b005f1ecca#:~:text=The%20church%20didn%27t%20alter,the%20world%27s%2085%20million%20Anglicans.

Then, today, Dec. 18, 2023, the Pope--not the Vatican, and no official body of the Catholic Church that oversees dogma and doctrine--came out with a request and a blessing and a “you can do this, too,” statement, that all Catholic priests consider blessing same sex couples. If they want. But only a blessing. Don’t marry us. It was splashed on the front of the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Huffpo, Religion News, Joe My God, etc. That’s very nice. A blessing. Of course, the same sex couple cannot be dressed as if they were marrying one another when receiving a blessing, according to one article. And they are not married in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, let alone God. Catholic doctrine on homosexuals? Hasn’t changed. Being a homosexual is a sin, but not a crime (Pope Francis, Jan., 2023). If you are a homosexual, Rome still understands that the very essence of who you are is a sin, but not a crime. That’s what Pope Francis said. As of 2023. How does that make you feel, you homosexual? What do you think, you homosexual? The Vatican still understands that the homosexual is intrinsically morally evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. That is Catholic doctrine and dogma. Period. And that hasn’t change. Pope Francis is just speaking from a point of personal privilege, and the next Pope can change all of that. Being a homosexual is a sin, but not a crime, and God cannot bless a sin. Catholic doctrine 101. In that regard, Catholics are just like The United Methodist Church, still, today, in which being gay is incompatible with Christian teaching and practices. 

Egads. Yikes. The Catholic Church and The United Methodists are one and the same on this matter.

Oh, I can feel my UMC friends squirm at this, being compared to Rome.

Here’s a link to the story: https://www.joemygod.com/2023/12/pope-francis-approves-blessings-for-same-sex-couples/

I regret that the Church of England and the Vatican have not changed their dogma/doctrine re: same sex couples marrying, let alone about being LGBTQIA2S+ people. But they just haven’t. And don’t pretend that they did. Because, in the end, you will just be frustrated. Mad. Angry. And rightfully so.

Keep the good fight up! Or join a denomination of the Christian faith that welcomes you as a person made in the image of God, just as you are.

May it be so.