‘Love is love:’ Pope Francis says priests can bless same-sex couples

The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis will formally allow priests to bless couples in same-sex relationships in some circumstances.

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Action News Jax spoke with Dr. Timothy J. Johnson who is the Craig and Audrey Thorn Distinguished Professor of Religion at Flagler College, to explain what this means for the LGBTQ and Catholic Community.

“The document was about the spirituality of blessings, it was all about what blessing means in the catholic church,” said Johnson.

According to Johnson, these blessings on same-sex couples still have some regulations among the catholic community

“This is a very informal dynamic, it’s not something for example that you would go to your church to fill out some forms to be done,” said Johnson.

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Father Victor Ray is a pastor at a St. Petersburg church and is openly gay. He says he had to break away from the catholic church because of his beliefs

“I’m an independent catholic now. I belong to the American national catholic church, which accepts all men and women to the priesthood. I give Pope Francis 100% you can see I wear the Franciscan robe myself,” said Father Victor Ray.

We reached out to the Diocese of St. Augustine to get their reaction on this, they sent us this statement back saying quote, “The church’s teaching on marriage has not changed, and this declaration affirms that, while also making an effort to accompany people through the imparting of pastoral blessings,”.

As for Father Victor Ray, he has a message for those who don’t like this new idea

“Love is Love,” said Father Victor Ray.

the organization Equality Florida released a statement to Action News Jax on the decision:

“We welcome the efforts of a growing number of religions and faith leaders who seek to unify our communities through greater inclusion, peace, and mutual respect. LGBTQ rights and religious rights do not have to be in conflict and many LGBTQ people are themselves people of deep faith. While some right-wing extremists may continue to use religious rhetoric as a cynical political tool to divide us, Equality Florida is committed to the work of building and expanding interfaith coalitions that believe in the values of freedom, equality, and fairness for all.”

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