The bishop of the Catholic diocese of Achonry has described the language in a Vatican statement reiterating the ban on the blessing of same-sex couples as cold, distant, hurtful and offensive.
Bishop Paul Dempsey was commenting on a document from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Faith, which has the approval of Pope Francis.
Of the twenty-three parishes in the Diocese of Achonry, 11 are in County Sligo, mainly in the south of the county.
The bishop of the diocese, Paul Dempsey, was ordained last August. He is, at 49, the youngest Catholic bishop in the country.
The Vatican document he was commenting on said the Church does not have, and cannot have, the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex.
Bishop Dempsey said the wording used in the document was ‘at best experienced as cold and distant, at worst hurtful and offensive.’
He said language such as that ‘the Church cannot bless sin’ is seen as targeting or treating same sex couples in a way that others are not targeted or treated.
May had found this deeply offensive, he said, and as a result, some feel they are not welcome and have no place in the Catholic Church.
Bishop Dempsey said there was a great sadness in this, adding that so many people in same-sex relationships had enriched the life of the church and continue to do so in parishes across the world.
However, Bishop Dempsey also noted how the Vatican document talked about positive elements in same sex relationships which are to be valued and appreciated.
He said this may seem insignificant but to his knowledge, he did not recall the Church making such a statement before.
Mercy, he said, is the approach that should be taken.
