In an unprecedented move, Archbishop Tomash Peta of Saint Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan, becomes the first prelate to issue a directive to priests and parishes in response to the Vatican's recent declaration allowing same-sex blessings. The declaration, named Fiducia supplicans, was signed by Pope Francis and released by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Prefect Cardinal Manuel Fernández on December 18, 2023.
In a statement dated December 19, Archbishop Peta, along with Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider, firmly opposes the Vatican's declaration, labeling it a "great deception." The Archbishop explicitly prohibits priests and the faithful from accepting or performing any form of blessing for same-sex couples and those in irregular situations.
The declaration claims to offer an "innovative contribution to the meaning of blessings" by permitting non-liturgical pastoral blessings for same-sex couples in irregular situations without officially altering the Church's traditional teaching on marriage. However, Archbishop Peta contends that such blessings directly contradict Divine Revelation and the longstanding doctrine of the Catholic Church, warning of "far-reaching and destructive consequences."
The Archbishop argues that, despite not permitting the "marriage" of same-sex couples, the permission to bless them is a serious abuse of the Holy Name of God, invoking it upon objectively sinful unions. The statement goes further, characterizing the Catholic Church, at least in practice, as a "propagandist" of "gender ideology."
Archbishop Peta and Bishop Schneider, as successors of the Apostles, exhort and prohibit priests and the faithful of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana from participating in any form of blessing for couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples. They call upon Pope Francis to reconsider the permission granted in the spirit of maintaining the Church's integrity and standing as the "pillar and ground of the truth."
