Vatican Says Pope’s Same Sex Marriage Approval Has Nothing “Heretical”

Following criticism from certain bishops in Poland, Africa, and other regions, the Vatican upheld Pope Francis’ recent decision to permit blessings for same-sex couples on Thursday, stating that nothing “heretical” was involved.

The agency of the Holy See responsible for protecting doctrinal orthodoxy acknowledged in a five-page statement that certain bishops’ conferences require further time for “pastoral reflection” about the formal blessings granted by the pope.

However, the office, officially known as the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated in a statement that “there is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally” from the Declaration of the Benefits “or to consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the Church or blasphemous.”

The new blessings rule was introduced last month as part of a proclamation, a significant document issued by the Catholic church. Several bishops said right away that they would not follow the new guidelines.

“Prudence and attention to the ecclesial context and to the local culture could allow for different methods of application” of the new blessings rule, “but not a total or definitive denial of this path that it proposed to priests,” Thursday’s statement said.

However, the office of the orthodoxy watchdog admitted on Thursday that it would be foolish to provide a blessing in circumstances when “there are laws that condemn the mere act of declaring oneself as a homosexual with prison and in some cases with torture and even death.” It stated, “It is clear that the Bishops do not wish to expose homosexual persons to violence.”