In reading this, is the Catholic Church stating that while it does not oppose gay marriages, it cannot "bless" them because God considers the intrinsic purpose of sex is procreation? If my interpretation is correct, does that represent a tacking of the Church position, or is it merely a rephrasing of its prior position? Is there any daylight between what cannot be blessed, because it is sin, and what is intrinsically wrong and evil, which one must strive to exorcise from the public square? I have this sense that the Pope does not care that much about secular legal gay marriages, even if sinful and not worthy of blessing. Is this merely a iteration of the mortal versus venal sin distinction or something else? If something else, is there a hierarchy within the mortal and venal sin categories? What is the theological basis for the Pope's belief that the Church has better things to do than opposing gay marriage in the secular public square.
Have I made the slightest sense here, as I struggle with my confusion? I admit I am not very facile with these matters. Thank you for your "indulgence."
https://thehill.com/policy/international/543207-vatican-church-cannot-bless-same-sex-unions
The Catholic Church is stating that it cannot bless same sex unions because they are sinful. As such, the Church opposes such marriages in principle. From that basis, it's a slightly different question to ask what the Church thinks secular governments should do. Not every sin can be made illegal by even a Catholic government and there is a long history of the Church arguing over what should or should not be civilly legal. This becomes a question of prudential decision-making. Pope Francis's statement about Civil Unions in Argentina seems to suggest that he thinks the government should not recognize same sex unions as marriage but afford them some protections. That is his personal opinion and has never been spelled out as a Church teaching in an official capacity.
