Catholics In Southern California Say They Welcome Pope's Approval Of Blessings For Same-Sex Unions

LGBTQIA+ Catholics in Southern California are welcoming the announcement from the Vatican on Monday that Pope Francis has given his approval to priests to bless same-sex unions.

But, in the same declaration, the pope said the church’s position on same-sex marriage has not changed.

According to the document, blessings can’t be ritualistic, and cannot occur at the same time as civil unions or with the clothing and rituals reserved for weddings.

For Yunuen Trujillo, a Catholic lay minister in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons, her reaction to the news on Monday morning was one of celebration and thinking it was “overdue.”

“There might be some people who want the full recognition of the right of marriage, but I think for many of us, that doesn't really matter,” she said. “As long as there's the recognition of God's presence in our relationship.”

Trujillo, who also founded an online community LGBT Catholics, said she came out as queer at 16, but went back into the closet because she became involved in the church.

“It took about 10 years for me to come back out and it was a long process,” she said.

The process, Trujillo said, was one of “discernment” about “reconciling my identity and my orientation with my love for God and my desire to have God in my life.”

At the end of that journey, she said, she came to that conclusion that God made her “exactly the way I am and God loves me and I am good the way I am.”

Richard Zaldivar, executive director-founder of The Wall Las Memorias, a Los Angeles-based LGBTQ+-Latino community organization, called Francis’ approval a “Christmas gift.”

“For too long, our Catholic LGBTQ+ community has sought a safe spiritual space in our church especially for those who are in a committed relationship,” Zaldivar said. “We have moved a giant step forward towards equality in our church and we know that it takes time.”

Pastoral care

Chris Cappiello, president of San Fernando Valley chapter of Dignity USA, a national organization of LGBTQ+ Catholics and their friends and allies, called the Vatican’s announcement “wonderful news.”

“It's kind of a continuation of Pope Francis' movement towards pastoral care for LGBTQ people,” Cappiello said.

Trujillo agreed, saying the move shows the church is moving toward one of inclusion and an extension of pastoral sensitivity to say, "Well, whether we agree or don't agree … we still have to accompany each other through this journey regardless of, of what our discernment process is.”

“More and more Catholics have a loved one who's an LGBTQ Catholic and so there's definitely growing acceptance in the Catholic community,” she added.

And now, Trujillo said, the church is recognizing the love that exists in these families and the need for safe spaces.

Catholic Church and marriage

Cappiello thinks this opens a path to possibly “melt that iceberg” for the Catholic Church to consider marriage equality “somewhere down the road.”

“The institutional church is now maybe slowly coming around to catch up with the people on this,” Cappiello said.

Gallup polls since 2011 show that the majority of Catholics in the United States support same-sex marriage, but in his document, Francis wrote marriage is an “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children.”