Vatican City, Mar 18, 2021 / 07:30 am
The Church’s pastoral life is open to all people, but blessings are reserved for couples who are married according to Catholic teaching, Cardinal Kevin Farrell said Thursday.
“It is essential and very important that we always open our arms to receive and to accompany all people in their different stages of life and in their different life situations,” he said at the end of an online press conference March 18.
The prefect of the Vatican’s Laity, Family, and Life dicastery answered a question in reference to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's March 15 document stating that same-sex unions cannot be given blessings in the Catholic Church.
In his response, Farrell underlined that the Church’s pastoral life is for everyone, but said the distinction between sacramental marriage and other kinds of unions or partnerships is important.