2023-12-24 14:32:05
Following the recent Vatican declaration authorizing the blessing of same-sex couples outside of liturgical rituals, the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) published an update this Saturday. The Congolese episcopate has firmly declared its opposition to any form of blessing of same-sex couples.
In this update, CENCO also recommended ordained ministers, catechists and pastoral animators not to give blessings to heterosexual couples, even stable but in an irregular situation. This measure aims to avoid any confusion and prevent the assimilation of this blessing to the sacrament of marriage. The full update is attached to this statement.
With around 40% of the population declaring themselves Catholic, the DRC remains a bastion of Catholicism in Africa, where the Church has played a significant role in public life, education and political affairs for decades.
For context, the Vatican announced on December 18 Pope Francis’ approval for the blessing of same-sex couples, a historic decision sparking various reactions within the Catholic Church. The Vatican statement allows priests to bless couples considered “irregular” in the eyes of the Church, thus including divorced and remarried people and unmarried people.
For his part, James Martin, the famous Jesuit priest, editor-in-chief at America Magazine and member of the Dicastery for Communication, reacted by expressing his enthusiasm for this historic decision. He said: “As a priest, I look forward to blessing same-sex couples, sharing with them the graces that God desires for all, something I have been waiting for for years.”
It should be noted that the Vatican authorized this measure outside of liturgical rituals, thus affirming its position on the issue while respecting the diversity of beliefs within the Catholic Church.
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