Although the Catholic Church teaches that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and cannot be approved under any circumstances, the Catholic Diocese of Basel, Switzerland has announced that it welcomes the new same-sex civil “marriage” plan the country is adopting.
Further, the diocese said it is certianly willing to bless such “marriages” in a special ceremony, but not perform homosexual weddings.
“We welcome the proposed regulations that give homosexual partnerships a stable and reliable legal coverage,” said Hansruedi Huber, communications director for the diocese, as reported by ChurchMilitant.com. “It is important to us that children who grow up in same-sex partnerships receive a legal framework that serves the best interests of the child.”
The Catholic Church also does not support gay couples adopting children, arguing that a child has a natural right to a mother and a father.
As for the blessings, Huber said, “These must differ in content and form from the church wedding.”
Markus Burri, a deacon in the Basel diocese, said, “Basically, I am convinced that there is nothing wrong with blessing people on their own life path. However, I do not know what the practice looks like with individual pastors.”
In 2017, the bishop of the diocese, Felix Gmur, said the church “does not bless the bond” between two homosexuals but it can bless “the two same-sex people on their common path together.”
ChurchMilitant.com contacted Huber to “clarify if the diocese of Basel affirms or denies the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexual acts being intrinsically evil but received no response as of press time,” the news outlet stated.
Source material can be found at this site.
