{"id":193899,"date":"2024-01-15T12:02:44","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T16:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=193899"},"modified":"2024-01-15T12:02:44","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T16:02:44","slug":"pope-says-the-church-will-continue-to-bless-gay-unions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pope-says-the-church-will-continue-to-bless-gay-unions\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope says the church will continue to bless gay unions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pope Francis has defended his controversial decision to let priests bless same-sex couples but admitted that \u201csolitude is a price you have to pay\u201d when you make difficult decisions.<\/p>

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Francis doubled down and insisted that the \u201cLord blesses everyone,\u201d during a Sunday interview with an Italian talk show. But he acknowledged the remarkable opposition his decision has sparked \u2014 Africa\u2019s bishops have united in a continent-wide refusal to implement the Vatican declaration and individual bishops in Eastern Europe, Latin America and elsewhere have also voiced opposition.<\/p>\n

The Vatican\u2019s December 18 declaration restated traditional church teaching that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and woman. But it allowed priests to offer spontaneous, non-liturgical blessings to same-sex couples seeking God\u2019s grace in their lives, provided such blessings aren\u2019t confused with the rites and rituals of a wedding.<\/p>

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During an appearance on \u201cChe Tempo Che Fa,\u201d Frances acknowledged, in his first comments since the uproar, the \u201cresistance\u201d the decision has generated. He blamed it on bishops not really understanding the issue and refusing to open a dialogue about it.<\/p>\n

Asked if he felt alone, Francis replied: \u201cYou take a decision and solitude is a price you have to pay.\u201d<\/p>

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Let us know what you think by adding a comment below. Click here to start now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cSometimes decisions are not accepted,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in most cases, when you don\u2019t accept a decision, it\u2019s because you don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The danger, he said, is that when people who don\u2019t understand refuse to enter into a \u201cbrotherly discussion\u201d and instead harden their hearts, resist and \u201cmake ugly conclusions.\u201d<\/p>

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\u201cThis has happened with these last decisions about blessing everyone,\u201d Francis said. \u201cThe Lord blesses everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Pope Francis has defended his controversial decision to let priests bless same-sex couples but admitted that \u201csolitude is a price you have to pay\u201d when you make difficult decisions. Francis doubled down and insisted that the \u201cLord blesses everyone,\u201d during a Sunday interview with an Italian talk show. But he acknowledged the remarkable opposition his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":156087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-regional"],"yoast_head":"\nPope says the church will continue to bless gay unions - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pope-says-the-church-will-continue-to-bless-gay-unions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope says the church will continue to bless gay unions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pope Francis has defended his controversial decision to let priests bless same-sex couples but admitted that \u201csolitude is a price you have to pay\u201d when you make difficult decisions. 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