Leaders of Maine’s LGBTQ+ community welcomed the Vatican’s announcement this month that Catholic priests may bless same-sex couples, though it’s unclear how the Diocese of Portland will administer the new policy or what the real impact will be for gay people.
Some Catholics say it’s further evidence that Pope Francis is moving to curb discrimination in the church, while it leaves in place a ban on same-sex marriage that still diminishes gay church members. Others say the announcement heralds no real change at all – that it has been a divisive distraction from the spiritual gifts of the Christmas season.
Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican on Oct. 18. Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press
The nine-page declaration says that marriage remains a lifelong union between a man and a woman, and that pastoral blessings of same-sex couples cannot be linked with any Catholic celebration, religious service or ritual related to a wedding or civil ceremony.
It also delves deeply into the meaning, purpose and limits of blessings within Catholic doctrine. It says that priests shouldn’t deny requests to bless same-sex couples, and that those in need of God’s saving presence, love and mercy “should not be required to have prior moral perfection” before seeking a blessing.
Gia Drew, executive director of EqualityMaine, said she found the pope’s announcement this week “refreshing” and in line with previous public stances he has taken through the years. At his first news conference in 2013, Francis said “Who am I to judge,” when asked about a supposedly gay priest.
“We have a pope who’s sticking his neck out, but I think he’s really being strategic,” said Drew, a single transgender woman who was raised Catholic.
“It’s setting a tone,” she continued. “Catholics have been all over the place on this issue, but I think this is significant progress. He’s acknowledging now that there are Catholics who want to be supportive. He’s laying the foundation for what comes next.”
SEEKING ‘GOD’S HEALING LOVE’
Exactly how the new policy will be administered remains to be seen.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland didn’t respond to a request to interview a representative about how the diocese, parishes and priests will handle requests for same-sex couple blessings. Instead, a spokesperson sent an email saying the diocese agrees with a one-paragraph statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:
“The declaration issued today by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith articulated a distinction between liturgical (sacramental) blessings, and pastoral blessings, which may be given to persons who desire God’s loving grace in their lives. The church’s teaching on marriage has not changed, and this declaration affirms that, while also making an effort to accompany people through the imparting of pastoral blessings, because each of us needs God’s healing love and mercy in our lives.”
Becoming a Welcoming Community is a statewide Catholic group ministry that supports LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones, in keeping with the “Always Our Children” statement from the U.S. bishops that says they should be treated “with respect, compassion and sensitivity.”
The ministry is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon, based at the St. Joseph Center in Winslow and promoted on the diocesan website. It holds Zoom meetings on the third Monday of each month. Group members didn’t respond to a request for an interview but also sent a statement.
“We at Becoming a Welcoming Community are Maine Catholics that love our Catholic church and love our LGBTQ family, friends and neighbors,” the statement said. “We are encouraged by anything that will help bring them closer together. We are committed to work in partnership with our Diocese of Portland leadership and (clergy) to become more welcoming to our LGBTQ (members) in all of our Maine Catholic parishes.”
A CHURCH DIVIDED
Catholics arriving for noontime Mass last Friday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland had varying opinions on the Vatican’s announcement. One man said he thought the church should welcome everyone. One woman said news media are misinterpreting the pope’s announcement – LGBTQ+ couples still cannot be blessed, she said, and she prayed that this story would tell the truth.
Alexander Chandler said he agreed with the declaration and had written long posts about it on his Facebook page.
“They can be blessed and maybe that blessing can hopefully work to help them change,” Chandler said. “Because (priests) marrying these couples is still against doctrine.”
The Rev. Seamus Griesbach, pastor of the Portland parishes, agreed with Chandler. He said it’s unfortunate that such a divisive issue has overtaken news about the church during the Christmas season. The Vatican’s declaration is long and complicated, he said, allowing people to parse its meaning to fit their own views.
“It’s causing division in the church because people are interpreting this document in different ways,” Griesbach said. “It clearly says we cannot bless the union.”
In truth, he said, very little has changed. The declaration, he said, makes clear that some blessings are given to all those who seek God’s grace, without judgment of their moral choices or beliefs. But these blessings are distinct from the church’s blessing of marriage, which sanctifies a relationship between a man and a woman that is both “unitive” and “procreative,” or open to the possibility of conceiving children.
PATH TOWARD CHANGE
Francis signaled his approach on this issue early on. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he favored granting legal protections to same-sex couples as an alternative to endorsing gay marriage. “Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” he told The Associated Press at the time.
As pope, he urged bishops in countries where homosexuality is against the law to recognize the dignity of everyone, reversing an earlier church position. And in November, the Vatican released a statement saying that transgender people may be baptized as Catholics and serve as godparents as long as the practice doesn’t cause “scandal or disorientation” among other Catholics. It reversed absolute bans issued in 2015.
Allowing priests to bless same-sex couples brings another reversal, if only partial. In 2021, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said the church couldn’t bless unions of two men or two women because “God cannot bless sin.”
In this month’s declaration, the Vatican says the church must avoid “doctrinal or disciplinary schemes especially when they lead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others.” It says blessings are seeds of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.
And while people in “irregular” unions involving extramarital sex – gay or straight – are in a state of sin, it says they “can always ask for a blessing, stretching out (their) hand to God.”
STILL WITHHOLDING ACCEPTANCE
For Ryan Fecteau, who is Catholic and was Maine’s first openly gay speaker of the House, letting priests bless same-sex couples is a significant but tentative step forward.
“It moves the needle to some extent, but the lesser status of same-sex couples persists,” said Fecteau, who is in a relationship and is a graduate of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
“It captures the challenge the church faces in having some members who don’t think the church should evolve and some who do,” Fecteau said. “It’s a constant struggle for me to reconcile my feelings about a church that’s entwined with my family history and spiritually where I feel most at home but also most conflicted.”
Fecteau said he’s concerned that the declaration keeps the onus on the LGBTQ+ community to seek acceptance from a church that continues to withhold it. It’s also probably not enough to call back many who have left the church because of its positions on gay marriage and related issues, he said.
The Maine diocese has seen active membership drop significantly in recent decades, closing churches and consolidating parishes from 135 in the 1950s to 48 today, although 21% of Mainers – about 286,000 people – still identify as Catholic, according to the diocesan website.
Whether same-sex couples will avail themselves of the blessings depends on various factors, including how they feel about the church as individuals and whether they can find a priest willing to bless them, Fecteau said.
“You have to be willing to find a priest who’s willing to give a blessing,” he said.
Drew, with EqualityMaine, said she looks forward to a day when the Catholic church removes marriage barriers for all its members.
“It would be amazing if it happened,” she said. “These are little baby steps, but I think this is significant progress.”
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