“Blessing Gives Strength to Love”: German Bishops’ Conference Releases Authorized Pastoral Guidelines on Imparting Blessings to Homosexual Couples

They waited until the See was vacant to endorse blatant heresy and perversion. Pray that these Bishops repent of their sins before their deaths.

From Rorate Cæli

By Peter Kwasniewski, PhD

It’s as if they were just waiting for the perfect moment—the moment when the last obstacle to their plan would be removed, and no one could stop them. The German original may be found here. -PAK

 

“Blessing Gives Strength to Love”:

Blessings for couples who love each other
Handout for pastors

Resolution of the Whole Conference [of German Bishops], April 4, 2025 [released April 23]

“The Church wishes to proclaim in word and deed the message of the God-given dignity of every person. This message guides her in her dealings with people and their partnerships. That is why it recognizes and offers support to couples who are united in love, who treat each other with full respect and dignity and who are prepared to live their sexuality in mindfulness for themselves, for each other and in social responsibility in the long term. There are couples who ask for a blessing for their partnership. This request based on gratitude for the love they have experienced and the hope for a future accompanied by God.”[i] Based on this concern, the Synodal Assembly of the Synodal Path of the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) has recommended that couples who do not wish to enter into a church sacramental marriage or who are not eligible for one should be allowed to have blessing ceremonies.

The Catholic Church in Germany has been dealing with the issue of blessings for couples for some time. Couples who are not married in church, divorced and remarried couples as well as couples of all sexual orientations and gender identities are naturally part of our society. Quite a few of these couples would like a blessing for their relationship.[ii] Such a request is an expression of gratitude for their love and an expression of the desire to shape this love out of faith. Until now, there has been no general guidance on how pastors can respond to this request in an appropriate manner.

The decision of the Synodal Assembly therefore provided for proposals for the framework conditions and organization of blessings to be presented in a timely manner by the German Bishops’ Conference and the ZdK. The present document fulfills this mandate.

In the meantime, the world church conditions for this concern have changed significantly: On December 18, 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published the declaration Fiducia supplicans - On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings (FS) with the approval of the Pope. In it, the previous categorical no to the blessing of couples for whom a church-sacramental marriage is not possible is abandoned.[iii] In order to bring the pastoral approach of Pope Francis’ pontificate to bear more strongly on this issue, it is the declared intention of Fiducia supplicans to “coherently combine doctrinal aspects with pastoral aspects” (FS 3).

At the same time, the declaration encourages us to consider and appreciate the significance of blessings more intensively. Blessings “us to grasp the presence of God in all the events of life and remind us that, even in the use of created things, man is called upon to seek God, to love him and to serve him faithfully”. (FS 8) With Pope Francis, Fiducia supplicans reminds us that before all individual blessings, Jesus Christ himself is “God’s great blessing”. He is God’s great gift, “a blessing for all mankind, he is a blessing that has saved us all”. (FS 1) Thus, the request for a blessing is always accompanied by thanksgiving and praise for God’s goodness and greatness, for his gifts and benefits, for the gift of life and love (cf. FS 10.15.29); “The request for a blessing expresses and nourishes openness to transcendence, piety, closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, and this is no small thing in the world in which we live. This is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nourished and not hindered.” (FS 33)

The text of the Synodal Path expresses it in a very similar way when it points out that when couples ask for a blessing, it becomes clear “that people want to shape their relationship within the horizon of God and thereby orient themselves towards the Good News. Strengthened by the blessing, these couples make their Christian faith and their relationship with God fruitful in their partnership, in their families, circles of friends and communities and sow the seeds for further blessings in and for our Church.” (SW 20, No. 21)

In our culture and society, in which human dignity, equality and self-determination are high goods and which therefore knows a great acceptance for different couple-constellations based on love and responsibility, the idea that Fiducia supplicans mentions for the first time in a magisterial document can only be reinforced: everything that is “true, good and humanly valid in such a common life and in these relationships [is] enriched, healed and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit”. (FS 31) For whenever people ask for a blessing, they are expressing a request for God’s help to be able to live the values of the Gospel with greater fidelity (cf. FS 40). “This request should be appreciated in every way, supported, and accepted with gratitude.” (FS 21) At the same time, blessings as expressions of faith enrich the life of the Church and deepen the understanding of the relationship between God and people. Blessings thus become “a pastoral resource that must be utilized”. (FS 23)

On this basis, the following practical information is provided:

- In accordance with the decision of the Synodal Way, both ordained ministers and persons with an episcopal commission to perform divine services may perform blessings. (SW 20, No. 7)

- With regard to the situational design and formulation of the blessing, Fiducia supplicans relies on the experience, pastoral wisdom and pastoral empathy of those giving the blessing. (FS 35 and 41) All persons who ask for a blessing are to be approached with an appreciative attitude.

- Fiducia supplicans expressly draws attention to the fact that there is no other prerequisite for asking for and giving a blessing than mutual trust in God’s assistance. (cf. FS 12 and 25)

- Pastors who nevertheless come to the conclusion that they cannot reconcile a blessing with their conscience or are unsure about this should refer the couple requesting a blessing to supportive persons (e.g., representatives for queer pastoral care, marriage and family pastoral care of the diocese).

- Appropriate further training should be offered for pastoral workers.

- As decided, the experiences with blessings for couples who love each other will be evaluated. (cf. SW 20 No. 10)

- The blessings of couples who love each other can and should be characterized by greater spontaneity and freedom with regard to the life situation of those who ask for the blessing. For this reason, no approved liturgical celebrations or prayers are provided for the blessings.

- The blessings should be designed in such a way that there is no confusion with the celebration of the sacrament of marriage.

- The blessing symbolically represents an event between God and humankind. It is intended to make it clear that people ask for God's blessing for their relationship, which is reliably granted to them.

- Blessing is also an act of the Church, which places itself at the service of the encounter between God and humankind. The Church takes seriously the couple's desire to place their future life together under God's blessing. It sees in the request for blessing the hope for a relationship with God that can sustain human life. In order to encourage the couple in this hope, everyone who is involved in the blessing should participate, in cooperation with the leader, through acclamation, prayer, and singing.

- The blessing requires joint consideration, taking into account the wishes and concerns of the couple regarding the respective setting and appropriate arrangements, and incorporating these in a theologically meaningful way. The greater spontaneity and freedom of these blessings should be combined with careful preparation.

- The manner in which the blessing is conducted, the location, the overall aesthetic, including music and singing, should reflect the appreciation of the people asking for the blessing, their togetherness, and their faith.

- Words from the Holy Scriptures make clear the connection between God's saving action and blessing. Biblical texts appropriate to the situation should therefore be recited during the blessing and interpreted if necessary.

- The blessing prayer addresses the God of the Bible and commemorates His history with humankind and all creation in praise and thanksgiving. This is followed by a blessing for the couple. The blessing prayer concludes with praise to God.

God blesses those upon whom he “shines his face.” This is what the Holy Scriptures tell us (cf. Num 6:24 ff.). To be blessed by God means to walk the path of life under God's loving gaze. We do not have to walk this path alone. We can walk it with the people God places at our side, surrounded and supported by the great community of believers throughout the ages.

NOTES

[i] Resolution of the Synodal Assembly of March 10, 2023: Action text Blessings for couples who love each other, in: The Synodal Way, 20th Resolutions of the Synodal Way of the Catholic Church in Germany, ed. by the Secretariat of the Synodal Way (Bonn 2023) 283 (full text: 283-290, cited: SW 20).

[ii] “It has become a widespread experience in pastoral practice that same-sex loving couples ask for a blessing for their partnership. Couples who have remarried in a civil union and are venturing a new in a new partnership do the same. Couples who do not yet feel ready for the sacrament of marriage also do this. They often do justice to the needs of a partnership in which only one partner is a believer or close to the Catholic Church. There is also increasing experience of unbaptized couples for a blessing.” (SW 20, No. 13)

[iii] Cf. the Responsum ad dubium of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of February 22, 2021 (AAS 113 [2021], 431-434).