The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) has contested the recent Vatican declaration permitting priests to extend “blessings” to same-sex couples, asserting its illegality within the Eastern Catholic Churches.
According to the UGCC, the declaration, primarily addressing the Latin Church’s pastoral perspective, neglects Eastern Catholic Churches, sidesteps matters of Catholic faith and morals, and lacks relevance for the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church under canon 1492 of the CCC.
“The above-mentioned Declaration interprets the pastoral meaning of blessings in the Latin Church, not in the Eastern Catholic Churches,” the Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said, referring to Fiducia Supplicans.
“It does not address questions of Catholic faith or morality, does not refer to any prescriptions of the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches, and does not mention Eastern Christians. Thus, on the basis of can. 1492 of the CCCC, this Declaration applies exclusively to the Latin Church and has no legal force for the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,” he said.
While some view the Vatican’s move as a positive step toward inclusivity, LGBTQ+ advocates caution that it may reinforce the church’s stance on the inferiority of gay couples compared to heterosexual partnerships.
The Vatican’s doctrinal office, expounding on Pope Francis’s October letter to conservative cardinals, outlined conditions under which such blessings could occur without conflating them with the marriage ritual.
The UGCC stressed that priestly blessings maintain an evangelistic and catechetical dimension but must align with the Catholic Church’s teachings on family—a faithful, indissoluble, and fruitful union between a man and a woman elevated to the dignity of the Holy Sacraments of Marriage by Jesus Christ.
In urging clarity and fidelity to Church doctrine, the UGCC advocates avoiding ambiguous gestures and statements that may distort the word of God and Church teachings.
*With Catholic News Agency
