A Gift to the LGBTQ2S+ Community from Pope Francis

 

                                                   Rev. James Martin blesses a same-gender couple

Pope Francis gave LGBTQ2S+ Roman Catholics an early, surprise Christmas gift this past week. The Vatican announced that same-gender couples could now be blessed by priests. The way I read it, this is definitely not permission for priests to perform marriages of LGBTQ couples,with marriage as one of the sacraments of the RC church. This will not even be a ceremony of same-gender union, which apparently would be too much like marriage. 

While this may seem like a slow-motion eye-roller when it comes to acceptance and blessing of same-gender relationships it is a big deal. Only a couple of years ago the Roman Catholic church made a "it ain't gonna happen" statement which seemed to belie comments made by Francis through the years of his papacy. This decision caught many by surprise and I think I can hear the howls of conversative RCs who have supported the infallibility of previous popes because it suited them but are not fans of Francis. 

A New York Times piece suggests that this has come about because Francis has listened to advocates for the LGBTQ2S+ community, including Father James Martin, a fellow Jesuit who commented "like anyone, he learns from listening". While I appreciate Rev Martin's ongoing conversations with Francis, the truth is that a lot of Christians of every background have selective deafness, so the willingness of the pope to compassionately hear those whose desire is be accepted within the church they love is impressive. I would like to think that the Holy Spirit has been at work in the heart and mind of the 87-year-old Francis.

Is this decision simply not good enough? More of a lump of coal than a true gift? 

As some of you know, I was at the General Council of the United Church in 1992 and was a part of the working group which explored same-gender unions on behalf of the larger assembly. There was spirited debate on the floor of Council but in the end congregations were granted permission to make their own decisions about these unions, years before same-gender marriage was legalized in Canada. That was 31 years ago. Today, most United Church ministers will marry same-gender couples 

Still, every Christian communion must find its own way.  We can give thanks for this shift for the Roman Catholic church, along with the recent decisions by the Anglican communion in Great Britain. We can say prayers for those who resist change and for those who embrace it. Most of all, we can celebrate with those who may now feel that their loving relationships are blessed by the God of love.