By Gavin Mackintosh-
Elton John has hit out at the Vatican after it declared the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions because God “cannot bless sin”.
The British star, who married his long-term partner David Furnish in 2014, condemned the stance of the Vatican as hypocritical as the Vatican invested “millions” in his 2019 biopic Rocketman.
Sir Elton posted a statement on social media after the Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response to a question about whether a Catholic clergy can bless gay unions.
The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was “negative”.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) issued an official response yesterday, March 15, stating that same-sex marriages could not be blessed because God does ‘not bless sin’.
The decree distinguished between the Church’s welcoming and blessing of gay people, which it upheld, but not their unions
An accompanying statement said Pope Francis had approved the declaration. The CFD said ‘there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family’.
Hypocrisy
Writing on Instagram, Sir Elton said: “How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they ‘are sin’, yet happily make a profit from investing millions in Rocketman – a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David?? #hypocrisy.
A report that the Vatican invested in Rocketman, as well as Men in Black: International, was published in an Italian newspaper in 2019 and followed up by outlets – including The Daily Beast in the US. Sir Elton included a picture of this report in the Instagram post to his 3.2 million followers.
The decree distinguished between the Church’s welcoming and blessing of gay people, which it upheld, but not their unions.
“The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan,” it said.
God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognise that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him,” it added.
The announcement by the pope will be offensive to millions of gays around the world, many of whom will point to the heavy sins of heterosexuals in the Catholic Church, including priests and highly ordained ministers who are notorious for sexual abuses against boys.
Gay marriage is a controversial topic among religious groups, but has received the blessing of numerous churches over the years. Some have maintained a strict stance against gay marriage, but the question for the catholic church is whether God blesses the priesthood of those who commit atrocities.