The Rev. Franklin Graham slammed Pope Francis for approving a measure that will allow Roman Catholic priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples, warning that such “blessings” will not “save you from the judgment of God.”
In a Facebook post on Monday, the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham responded to news that the Vatican will allow priests to bless same-sex couples, though not in a way that endorses their unions.Â
“So-called ‘blessings’ from religious leaders won’t save you from the judgment of God!” wrote Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse.
“Pope Francis has now approved Catholic priests’ blessing’ same-sex couples. But none of us, including the Pope, has the right to ‘bless’ what God calls sin. ‘Woe to those who call evil good and good evil…’ (Isaiah 5:20).”
“The Good News is that right now God will forgive sin, but we have to come to Him His way, on His terms — by repenting of our sins and placing our faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, the Bible says, ‘The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed’ (Isaiah 1:28).”
Graham’s comments came hours after the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a declaration titled “Fiducia Supplicans,” providing “a broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a liturgical perspective.”
“It is precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage,” stated the Catholic Church leadership.
“This Declaration is also intended as a tribute to the faithful People of God, who worship the Lord with so many gestures of deep trust in his mercy and who, with this confidence, constantly come to seek a blessing from Mother Church.”
The Vatican document stated that “when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it” and that “those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection.”
For same-sex couples, “a blessing may be imparted that not only has an ascending value but also involves the invocation of a blessing that descends from God upon those who — recognizing themselves to be destitute and in need of his help — do not claim a legitimation of their own status.”
The declaration warned that “one should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation.”Â
“At the same time, one should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing,” the Vatican document continued.
“In a brief prayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance — but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely.”
A declaration issued by the same body in 2021 stated that churches have no power to bless same-sex marriage since God “cannot bless sin.”
Officially, the Catholic Church teaches that same-sex attraction is not sinful, but homosexual acts are. However, in the United States, about six in 10 Catholics (61%) said in a 2019 survey that they favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry.
Last month, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a guidance stipulating that people who have undergone trans surgical procedures or taken cross-sex hormones can be baptized, provided “there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or disorientation among the faithful.”
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