LEXINGTON, Kentucky (LifeSiteNews) – Notoriously pro-LGBT Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., of Lexington, Kentucky, has expressed his support for “blessings” of same-sex unions after Pope Francis statement that such blessings can be discerned by priests to be acceptable in certain circumstances according to “pastoral prudence.”
Speaking to TIME about the Pope’s opening of the door to “blessings” of same-sex unions, Stowe said, “He’s not saying that we should create a ritual that can be done anywhere, any time, but [that blessings] can be a response to individuals or couples or groups of people who ask for a special blessing on an occasion.”
Stowe was commenting on a letter Pope Francis had written in July in response to five dubia submitted by several high-ranking cardinals. In the original version of the questions the cardinals raised, they wrote:
2. Dubium about the claim that the widespread practice of the blessing of same-sex unions would be in accord with Revelation and the Magisterium (CCC 2357).
According to Divine Revelation, confirmed in Sacred Scripture, which the Church “at the divine command with the help of the Holy Spirit … listens to devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully” (Dei Verbum 10): ‘In the beginning’ God created man in his own image, male and female he created them and blessed them, that they might be fruitful (cf. Gen. 1, 27-28), whereby the Apostle Paul teaches that to deny sexual difference is the consequence of the denial of the Creator (Rom 1, 24-32). It is asked: Can the Church derogate from this “principle,” considering it, contrary to what Veritatis Splendor 103 taught, as a mere ideal, and accepting as a ‘possible good’ objectively sinful situations, such as same-sex unions, without betraying revealed doctrine?”
Pope Francis appeared to open the possibility of granting “blessings” of same-sex unions by declaring them to be a matter of “pastoral prudence,” according to which a priest can “discern” that in certain circumstances such blessings are acceptable.
The Pope responded to the cardinals, “We cannot be judges who only deny, push back and exclude. As such, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or several people, that do not convey a wrong idea of a matrimony. Because when one seeks a blessing, one is requesting help from God.”
READ: Pope Francis to clergy: Decide for yourselves whether to ‘bless’ homosexual unions
Writing again to the Pope about the issue in a second version of the same dubia, the cardinals declared, “Your Holiness has insisted on the fact that there can be no confusion between marriage and other types of unions of a sexual nature and that, therefore, any rite or sacramental blessing of same-sex couples, which would give rise to such confusion, should be avoided.”
They continued, “Our concern, however, is a different one: we are concerned that the blessing of same-sex couples might create confusion in any case, not only in that it might make them seem analogous to marriage, but also in that homosexual acts would be presented practically as a good, or at least as the possible good that God asks of people in their journey toward Him.”
“So let us rephrase our dubium: Is it possible that in some circumstances a pastor could bless unions between homosexual persons, thus suggesting that homosexual behavior as such would not be contrary to God’s law and the person’s journey toward God? Linked to this dubium is the need to raise another: does the teaching upheld by the universal ordinary magisterium, that every sexual act outside of marriage, and in particular homosexual acts, constitutes an objectively grave sin against God’s law, regardless of the circumstances in which it takes place and the intention with which it is carried out, continue to be valid?”
Pope Francis did not respond a second time to the cardinals, which led them to publish their letters, after which the Vatican published the Pope’s response to the first dubia. After the publication of the Pope’s response, Bishop Stowe was quick to add his name to those endorsing “blessings” of same-sex unions.
Reserving the name “marriage” for the union between a man and a woman, Stowe echoed Pope Francis’ words in favor of blessing same-sex “couples,” saying, “It almost signifies God’s approval.”
Ignoring the unequivocal Scriptural condemnations of sodomy, and falsely claiming that the Church’s teaching that homosexual acts are grave sins has its origin in an outdated medieval theology — according to which “everything has its purpose and the purpose of sexual relations is procreation” — the dissident bishop argued that science has progressed, implying that some persons are born homosexual.
“The discipline of theology means faith seeking understanding. So, we have to explore how we best understand that and best apply that in light of what we now know about anthropology, about human development, about sexual orientation not being something that one freely chooses,” he said.
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Stowe, a notorious homosexualist, has a long history of pro-LGBT activism within the Catholic Church. In 2022, he hosted a prayer service that sought to issue an apology to homosexuals on behalf of the Church titled “Service of Atonement and Apology to the LGBTQ+ Community.”
In 2021, he participated in an event hosted by heretical pro-LGBT organization Dignity USA, which rejects Church teaching on several points of faith and morals. Dignity USA billed the event as a reaction to the Vatican’s pronouncement earlier that year that same-sex relationships cannot be blessed. The teaching, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in March, declared that the Church lacks “the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex.” God “cannot bless sin,” it emphasized.
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Bishop Stowe gave a general blessing at the event, highlighting the “annual celebration of Pride.” “Dear friends in the LGBTQ community. I offer a prayer, a blessing, for each of you during this annual celebration of Pride,” he said.
His speech was preceded by a “Pride Blessing” from Dignity USA executive director Marianne Duddy-Burke, Catholic News Agency reported. “You have been judged worthy and holy of my delight,” Duddy-Burke said. “Therefore, go with pride, which is not sin for you but salvation, a promise of liberation for all.”
In June 2020, Stowe similarly released a “Pride Month” video in which he apologized for the Church’s teaching on homosexuality and gender confusion. A few months later, he asked parishes to place an ad for an LGBT Ministry in their weekly bulletins.
During 2019’s Pride Month, Stowe issued a “prayer” card that celebrates homosexual “pride” and includes an image of a crucifix with rainbow colors coming from it. That year, he also led an “LGBT retreat” at the University of Notre Dame.
In 2018, Bishop Stowe allowed Fortunate Families, a pro-LGBT “Catholic” organization working in partnership with “Lexington Catholic LGBT Ministry” and the University of Kentucky LGBTQ* Resource Center, to host dissident Fr. Bryan Massingale. He spoke about “LGBT Persons in the The Age of Pope Francis & Social Ethics.”
Stowe is one of five bishops who endorsed Fr. James Martin’s book, “Building a Bridge,” and was also a featured speaker at a 2017 conference for the dissident group New Ways Ministry. The gathering was titled “Justice and Mercy Shall Kiss: LGBT Catholics in the Age of Pope Francis.”
Stowe’s latest comments come as bishops in Belgium and Germany are already “blessing” same-sex unions with no intervention from Rome, despite the Vatican’s 2021 statement that the Church cannot grant such “blessings” because God “cannot bless sin.” The new head of the DDF, Cardinal Victor Fernández, has also signaled his own support for “blessings” of same-sex unions.
This week, Synod participants are discussing the question of wider “inclusion” for those who reject Catholic sexual morality, including “remarried divorcees, people in polygamous marriages, LGBTQ+ people, etc.”
It is widely anticipated that the Synod will publish some form of support or approval of these sinful lifestyles by declaring the possibility of “discerning” when “blessings” and the sacraments can be given to persons in these situations, following the lead of Amoris Laetitia, which the Pope has affirmed opened the door to the reception of the Eucharist for those living in adultery.
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