Local Catholics react to the pope permitting same-sex 'blessings'

For Catholics in the gay community and their families, news Monday that Pope Francis has opened the way for clergy to "bless" same-sex couples was a welcome shift, even as the sting of the church's long opposition to gay unions remains.

“It feels like another window is being opened in the Catholic Church for LGBTQ people,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke of DignityUSA, a Boston-based nonprofit that she said is the oldest Catholic LGBTQ organization in the world.

“ It was only two years ago that there was an official statement from the Vatican that same sex couples could not be blessed," she added. "So in Vatican time, this is a meteoric shift in attitudes.”

The church's new doctrine allows priests to bless same sex couples, so long as the blessing does not resemble a marriage ceremony; the blessing is not to be treated as a sacrament, as marriage is between men and women in the church.

Still, Duddy-Burke said the move culminates a series of actions by Pope Francis to recognize LGBTQ+ people: speaking in favor of civil unions; advocating for the legal equality of same-sex couples; and meeting with trans people.

But other advocates are reacting with mixed feelings to the pope's shift toward greater inclusion. Arlene Isaacson co-chairs the Massachusetts GLBTQ Political Caucus and is a veteran of the successful fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts. As much as the community welcomes the change, she said it’s hard to forget the fierce opposition by church officials to rights for members of the gay community.

"The Catholic Church, for decades, lobbied against every major piece of LGBTQ equality legislation, or anti-discrimination legislation," she said, "sermonizing against them, actively organizing against them."

As a result, Isaacson said, many Catholics left the church — not just gay people but also their families. She said some may feel ready to return to a church now seen as more welcoming.

More conservative Catholics are condemning the Pope’s decision to allow priests to bless same sex couples. C.J. Doyle heads the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, a group that tracks church media coverage. He called the move a "tragedy" that breaks with long-standing doctrine.

“In the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, this is the first time that we saw a pope essentially depart from the traditional Catholic faith," he said. "It's very disturbing." Doyle said the trend toward progressivism could drive people away from the church.

While some advocates hope the next step after allowing blessings for same-sex couples is to allow priests to officiate gay marriage, religious scholars doubt that will happen any time soon, if ever. But within the confines of an often-divided church, professor Mathew Schmalz of College of the Holy Cross in Worcester said, the pope is reaching out in the most inclusive way he can.

As a practicing Catholic, Schmalz got choked up when recounting his sister's relationship with the church: "My sister married her partner, and I think many Catholic families, such as my own, are going to be very deeply affected by this," he said.