(CNA. Daniel Payne).
A parish in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, is openly promoting blessings for same-sex couples despite a Vatican directive that suggests such blessings should be “spontaneous.” Historic St. Paul Catholic Church in downtown Lexington says on its website that “same-sex couples who would like a blessing” can contact the church’s pastor, Father Richard Watson, via phone or email. The offer, made via the church’s “LGBTQ+ Ministry” page, is accompanied by a link to the Vatican’s December 2023 Fiducia Supplicans declaration, which says that Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples as an expression of pastoral closeness without condoning their sexual relations.