Francis’ recent homosex propaganda text interprets the meaning of “blessing” only in the Latin Church, not for Eastern Catholics, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Greek Catholics in Ukraine and a personal friend of Francis, said in a statement on 22 December.
“According to the liturgical practice of our Church, the blessing of a priest or bishop is a liturgical gesture that cannot be separated from the rest of the content of the liturgical rites and reduced only to the circumstances and needs of private piety.”
Shevchuk adds that the concept of “blessing” means approval and permission. The priest's blessing has a catechetical dimension and “can in no way contradict” the teaching on marriage:
“Pastoral discernment urges us to avoid ambiguous gestures, expressions and concepts that would distort or misrepresent the word of God and the teaching of the Church.”
Picture: Sviatoslav Shevchuk © ugcc.ua, #newsRbjgdzxcgc