MINSK, Belarus (LifeSiteNews) — The Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus has stated that they do not “intend to put into practice” the blessing of same-sex and “irregular” couples as proposed by the Vatican Declaration Fiducia Supplicans.
The bishops’ statement, released on February 1, notes that the declaration does not seek to change the definition of marriage as “the union between a man and a woman as a community of life” but, nevertheless, “The Catholic Church in Belarus does not intend to put into practice the possibility of blessing couples living in an irregular union and same-sex couples proposed by the Declaration.”
The bishops also noted that priests can continue to offer blessings to individuals who ask for it, cautioning that “it is always necessary to avoid giving the blessing specifically to couples who live in a so-called ‘civil marriage,’ as well as to those who live in a canonically invalid marriage or same-sex couples. Such a blessing may be perceived by other believers as consent to sin.”
The full text of the Belarusian bishops can be found HERE.