Refusal by the Vatican’s ‘Congregation for the doctrine of the faith’ to bless same-sex unions and accord them sacramental recognition on the grounds that ‘God cannot bless sin”, comes as a huge setback to the thousands of gay Catholics all over the world who are in the forefront of their agitation with demands for recognition of same-sex marriages by the Catholic church. It is also a huge disappointment because the Church, which recognises the dignity of homosexuals and lesbians, is also expected to recognise same-sex marriages since persons with homosexual orientations are also blessed by God. However, to most Catholics the decision by the Church is no surprise, knowing very well the orthodoxy of the Vatican over the past years and Pope Francis’ rigid defence of heterosexual marriages and repeated reference to Genesis as a bedrock for the belief that it was God’s wish to see the fulfillment of his creation through the loving union between man and woman.
