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On The Vatican’s Refusal to Bless Same-Sex Marriages
It’s not about marriage…or even about sexuality for that matter.
The Pope has recently affirmed the Catholic church’s refusal to bless same-sex marriages on the grounds that the church “cannot bless sin” and that this refusal was “a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite”. Ross Murray, who oversees religious issues for the organization GLAAD, found that the statement “brings us back to zero” and leaves LGBTQ+ Catholics wondering if Jesus truly loves them or not. Although the Vatican holds that gay and bi people should be treated with respect, the institution still maintains that gay sex is “intrinsically disordered” and that same-sex unions are not legitimate.
It’s easy for straight Christians to tell us to just not have gay sex, but even while taking romance and marriage out of the equation, it is pretty clear that this issue is about more than sex. After all, when these people think about straight marriages, their minds don’t immediately go to sex. Instead, they think about date nights, pooling their assets together, and possibly having children. By automatically thinking about sex when gay marriage is brought up, the Vatican shows distortion in the way it approaches sexuality.