Mary McAleese has welcomed comments from Pope Francis about blessings for same-sex couples but pointed out the pontiff’s stance is a “complete contradiction” of what he said previously.
Pope Francis appeared to leave open the possibility of priests blessing same-sex couples, if they are limited, decided on a case-by-case basis and not confused with wedding ceremonies of heterosexuals.
The head of the Catholic Church made his opinion known in one answer to five questions from five conservative cardinals from Asia, Europe, Africa, the United States and Latin America.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland, the former president, who is also a doctor of canon law, said: “It’s a complete contradiction of what the pope himself said through a document that was issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2021.
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“At that time, they were trying to stop blessings of gay couples, gay married couples – you might remember that the German Synod had decided that this was something that they planned to do. And the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the pope’s full approval, slammed that door firmly shut, said it was not possible.
“So what you had then was really a remarkable reaction from priests and bishops and laity in the synod sort of taking place, a synodal journey that’s taken place for the last two years, there has been virtual unanimity among the faithful, including priests and bishops, many bishops, that this was simply not acceptable,” Ms McAleese said.
[ Climate change and church inclusiveness top of papal agenda in Rome this weekOpens in new window ]
“And then we had the remarkable thing that happened in Belgium last year when Bishop Bonney issued a new liturgy precisely for gay couples, gay married couples who wanted a blessing in the Catholic Church. So this is Francis losing the old tin ear and listening to the voice, the very strong voice that has come from right around the world and will certainly be heard.
“Well, it will be heard inside the Vatican, it will not be heard outside because you know there’s going to be a closed session and secret session, but it will be heard undoubtedly,” she said.
Ms McAleese acknowledged this was not a change to the Catholic definition of marriage. “What it is, and in fairness to the priests and bishops who have already been offering these blessings, they are not saying that these are an extension of Catholic marriage. They are saying these are simply what they are – a blessing of an existing loving relationship and that they don’t in any way impact on the church’s teaching.
“This was a very strong point made by the Belgians who developed the liturgy. They said: look, this doesn’t offend Catholic teaching at all. There’s no ceremony. There’s no big church ceremony. There’s nothing that equates to Catholic marriage. All that this is, is a recognition that people who have a loving relationship and who believe in a God are entitled to ask for a blessing.
“You might remember back in 2021, the document from the congregation, The Doctrine of the Faith, actually went as far as saying that Catholic married gay couples were not capable – their words, not mine – were not capable of receiving or expressing God’s grace. Well, that provoked an absolute outrage among priests and certain bishops and the faithful, including even bishops here in Ireland,” Ms McAleese said.
“And I have to say that part of the change in attitude from Pope Francis has been greatly helped, I think, by the work that was done here in Ireland, in the Irish version of the Irish part of the synod by Ursula Halligan’s LGBTI focus group, and they’re the group that put a report together and thank you to the Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran, who asked them to do it. And their document really went viral. Just went viral.”
[ Pope Francis suggests church could bless same-sex couplesOpens in new window ]
When asked if she thought that Francis would now lead by example and bless same-sex couples, Ms McAeese said that was what would be expected. “I mean, that’s what we would expect, is it not? From the man who is, after all, the leader who led us once in the wrong direction and now has the courage to lead in another direction? I’d like to think so.
“But in any event, whether he does or whether he doesn’t, and in some sense it doesn’t really matter because, frankly, these blessings are happening every day of the week.”
The forthcoming synod had started out as the pope’s synod – he had tried to shape the agenda away from issues that were contentious or difficult, she said.
“But in fact, what has happened is that all over the world ... people have said, no, this is our first opportunity to put on the table the things that we’ve been discussing, the things that we are worried about: women and the church, the exclusion of women, the exclusion of LGBTQ people, the problem with vocations and the compulsory celibacy, the access to the sacraments, particularly communion of people who are divorced and remarried. All of these things are now on the synod agenda in Rome.”
People, not the pope, can take credit for what is on the agenda for the synod, she said.