The secular media today has been trumpeting that Pope Francis, in a monumental shift to everything evil and backwards about the Catholic Church, is now permitting same-sex blessings. A few brief notes.
First, read the document for yourself here. Despite the bad example of the secular media, it is fairly straightforward, and does not say what you might think it says. If you need some commentary, the Pillar is excellent, as always.
Second, as I summarized it to my priest friends this morning, all this document really says is “Pray for people, including sinners, especially when they ask spontaneously.” There is nothing in this sentiment that I, or any priest I know, would disagree with. Or, as another priest put it on the-service-formerly-known-as-Twitter, “What I’m not seeing is, in the text itself, anything that requires me to change the first thing about how I am supposed to respond to requests for intercessory prayer.”
The upshot being that this really changes nothing. Or, to give the DDF some credit for publishing a document, it broadens the definition of “blessing” to include spontaneous prayers for those in need. The DDF was clear that blessing a same-sex couple in this way does not legitimize an objectively sinful act, nor can such a “blessing” be given in a liturgical context that would suggest such a legitimization. In a very real sense, what the DDF has done is responded to the call for same-sex blessings by saying “Fine, do these blessings, but only because we have redefined the word blessing to mean intercessory prayer and not approval or celebration.” Again, given the new definition the DDF has provided, it is really hard to see anything wrong or earth shaking in that.
Fr. Moore 
If this changes nothing, then why make the proclamation? At the very least, it changes substantially the amount of ammunition possessed by the enemies of the church, both within and without…and those within, of course, remain uncorrected.
Ben – Oh, I fully agree. It was, at best, massively imprudent and, at worst, a way to give cover to those in the Church who have no intention of respecting the theological guardrails established by the document itself.
I wanted to publish my note to reassure people that the faith remains consistent, even if Rome has made the day-to-day practice of that faith harder.
This is all fine. I agree the pope did not cross the line. Yet he has been changing many words in the last ten years or things that really cause vagueness or no answer just confusion. It is one thing to refine but another thing to give the secular LGBT people what they want. He gave them an inch and will be back for the rest 11 inches.
God bless you Fr. Moore
I agree. Very few of the documents to come out of Rome in the course of my priesthood have made preaching the faith easier.
Agree, Greg
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Father Moore, we so appreciate you taking the time to clarify something th
I’m saddened to see this response. We have been estranged from the Church for some time because of the objective sin the Church allowed (pederasty) and covered up. We want the Church to address its own failings and to express Gods love to all. The attitude I’m seeing above is reactionary, not very loving, unlike what we have seen Pope Francis attempting to bring to the Church. This is not helping us re-engage. Yours in God’s love.
Aaron – thank you for your note. Is there any way the Church could help you reengage while holding to the Scriptural admonition that homosexual sexual activity is sinful? Or is your reengagement conditional on a change in that teaching?