“These blessings, outside of any liturgical context and form, do not require moral perfection to be received.”
He had a few words to say today about the blessing of those in “irregular” unions:
Pope Francis addressed the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Friday, as the department brought its annual plenary assembly to a close…
…It was “in this context of evangelization,” Pope Francis continued, that he wanted to mention the recent Declaration Fiducia supplicans.
The purpose of the “pastoral and spontaneous blessings” discussed in the Declaration, the Pope stressed, is to “concretely show the closeness of the Lord and the Church to all those who, finding themselves in different situations, ask for help to continue—sometimes to begin—a journey of faith.”
In this regard, the Pope emphasized two points.
Firstly, he said, “these blessings, outside of any liturgical context and form, do not require moral perfection to be received.”
Secondly, he noted, “when a couple spontaneously approaches [a minister] and asks for them, he is not blessing the union, but simply the people who together have requested it.”
“Not the union,” the Pope stressed, “but the persons, naturally taking into account the context, sensitivities, the places where one lives, and the most appropriate ways to do it.”
The full text of his remarks can be found here.
Photo: Vatican Media
