“The Austrian Priests’ Initiative, which has supported the practice of blessing same-sex unions, released a statement this week expressing their intention to disobey Monday’s decree from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The group of priests stated that they were ‘deeply appalled by the new Roman decree that wants to prohibit the blessing of same-sex loving couples. This is a relapse into times that we had hoped to be overcome with Pope Francis,’ the group’s statements reads, as reported by CBS News. The initiative, founded in 2006, has about 350 members who mostly reside in Austria. The group argued that same-sex couples can be as loving as heterosexual couples. In a statement authored by Spanish Jesuit Cardinal Luis Ladaria, Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared that it is ‘not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage. As is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex. The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan,’ the Vatican’s statement reads.”
“European Priests,” The Christian Post, Mar. 18, 2021