The Vatican’s sleight-of-hand on blessings for same-sex couples

When the Vatican officially announced its approval of the blessing of same-sex couples this week, the media went into overdrive. The news was termed a “shocking reversal on same-sex relationships,” a “landmark ruling,” and a “radical shift in church policy.”

You’d think the hyperventilating reaction signaled a major reform. Instead, all the attention concerned a change that was much more modest and not even new.

Back in October, Pope Francis, responding to questions from ultra-conservative cardinals, wrote that he was open to permitting the blessing of same-sex couples, provided they were done by priests on a case-by-case basis, and were not confused with Catholic marriage, which is defined by the church as a union between a man and woman open to procreation.

A declaration released Monday, approved by Francis and issued by his newly appointed doctrinal czar, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, said much the same thing. It does not do anything dramatic, like convening a group of moral theologians to consider revising the church’s teaching on sexual ethics.