A Catholic priest can bless a gay or other unmarried couple as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Catholic Church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage, the Vatican doctrinal office said.
Doctrinal dicastery explains how, when gay couples can be blessed
Photos of the week Dec. 15, 2023
Photos featured this week include the Nativity scene and Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, a procession in the neighborhood surrounding Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in St. Paul and the 30th Posada Without Borders celebration at the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico.
Synod’s call to form Catholics as ‘digital missionaries’ is paradigm shift, say experts
Missionary work and digital culture have come face-to-face — a fact recognized by the Synod on Synodality, which concluded its first session in Rome and is set to resume in October 2024.
Nebraska priest dies after attack during apparent rectory break-in
Father Stephen Gutgsell, of Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, has died after being attacked in the rectory of his parish.
Special guests at dinner under Bernini’s colonnade — the homeless
For the first time in history, 150 homeless people had a festive meal, served by Italian journalists and their families, under the famous baroque Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square.
Minnesota priest places Diorama Nativity scene amid a busy, bustling Bethlehem at time of Jesus’ birth
Father Allen Kuss of Edina has created a Fontanini Nativity scene depicting the Holy Land region, complete with landscape and buildings, including the temple in Jerusalem.
Faith and forgiveness: Holy Year is ‘also for the incarcerated’
The Vatican hopes to show the pilgrims who come to Rome for the jubilee that the spirit of forgiveness remains front and center of the church’s long tradition of celebrating Holy Years.
Photos of the week Dec. 8, 2023
Photos featured this week include a Christmas tree in front of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, the Vatican Christmas tree and the 91st lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City.