The Vatican on December 18, 2023, approved a landmark ruling to allow Catholic priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples as long as they are not part of regular church rituals or liturgies, nor given in contexts related to civil unions or weddings.
The Catholic Bishops of the Lagos Ecclesiastical Province have unanimously said ‘no’ to blessing same-sex marriages.
The Lagos Ecclesiastical Province which comprised Lagos Archdiocese, Ijebu Ode, and Abeokuta Dioceses, declared the position in a communique issued on Thursday after their January 26 plenary meeting in Lagos.
In the communique signed by their chairman and secretary, Archbishop of Lagos and Bishop of Ijebu-Ode, Most Rev Alfred Martins, and Most Rev Francis Adesina respectively, the bishops said that they were in total agreement with the position of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) that declared no to the blessing of same-sex unions.
The Vatican on December 18, 2023, approved a landmark ruling to allow Catholic priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples as long as they are not part of regular church rituals or liturgies, nor given in contexts related to civil unions or weddings.
A document from the Vatican’s doctrinal office approved by Pope Francis, said such blessings would not legitimise irregular situations but be a sign that God welcomes all.
The document backed “the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex” but “this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them.”
In the Catholic Church, a blessing is a prayer or plea, usually delivered by a minister, asking God to look favourably at the person(s) being blessed.
However, the Pope's approval was met with divergent views and criticism.
Aligning with the position of the position of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria and that of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar concerning the blessing of homosexual unions or same-sex couples, the bishops said: “We affirm that the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage as the union of a man and a woman in a stable and exclusive relationship, open to bearing children, remains the same. We also affirm the Church’s teaching on human sexuality and urge the faithful to be guided by it."