The leader of Ukraine’s eastern-rite Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, declared on Saturday that the recent document endorsed by Pope Francis, allowing blessings for same-sex couples, doesn’t pertain to his church and its principles.
Shevchuk clarified that the Vatican document only interprets blessings in the Latin Church, without addressing the matters relevant to the Eastern, or Greek Catholic, church.
In an official statement, Shevchuk emphasized that the declaration exclusively concerns the Latin Church and holds no legal authority for the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
He asserted that a blessing must align with the church’s teachings and should not contradict the Catholic Church’s stance on family, describing it as a faithful, indissoluble, and fruitful union between a man and a woman.
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The eastern-rite church follows rites similar to the Orthodox faith but remains in communion with Rome due to a historical agreement from the 16th century.
Suppressed during Soviet times, the church now boasts around 4.5 million parishioners, constituting about 10% of Ukraine’s population.
The Vatican’s doctrinal office released a document permitting Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, provided these blessings are not part of regular church rituals or liturgies.
The document stressed that such blessings indicate God’s acceptance of all but should not be confused with the sacrament of heterosexual marriage.
Although Ukraine and other former Soviet states have seen some progress in gay rights, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, while expressing sympathy for upholding gay rights, has ruled out constitutional changes to permit same-sex marriages during the ongoing conflict in the country.
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Ukrainian Catholic Church Rejects Vatican Stance On Blessing Same-Sex Couples,
