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The Vatican has issued new guidance on the topic of blessings of same-sex attracted people, stating that Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples as an expression of pastoral closeness without condoning their sexual relations. The ruling, which also applies to Catholics civilly remarried without having received an annulment as well as to couples in other “irregular situations,” underscored that such blessings cannot be offered in a way that would cause any confusion about the nature of marriage, which the document affirms is the only “context that sexual relations find their natural, proper, and fully human meaning.” The declaration emphasizes that blessings may only be given “spontaneously” and not in the context of a formal liturgical rite. For more information about this new declaration from the Vatican, visit catholic news agency dot com.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256308/vatican-says-priests-can-bless-same-sex-couples-without-condoning-their-lifestyles
The US bishops over the weekend renewed their call for peace in the Holy Land amid reports on Saturday that two Christian women were killed by sniper fire from Israeli forces at the Holy Family Parish in Gaza. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said on Saturday morning that “around noon” on December 16, a sniper of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families has taken refuge since the start of the war.” Several others were also shot, the statement said. The IDF has denied culpability for the deaths. In a statement on Saturday, meanwhile, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, called for “an immediate cessation of all hostilities, the release of hostages, and for earnest negotiations towards a peaceful resolution of this conflict.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256307/us-bishops-renew-call-for-peace-after-christian-women-reportedly-killed-in-gaza-church
Today, the Church celebrates Blessed Pope Urban V. He is perhaps best known for his decision to return the papacy to Rome and end the Avignon exile of the popes.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-pope-urban-v-89