Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508940
4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2023 4 JAMES DEBONO IN his response to five conserv- ative cardinals who challenged him to affirm church teaching on homosexuality Pope Francis has suggested that priests can find ways to bless same-sex un- ions without being in breach of church dogma. The Vatican on Monday pub- lished a letter Francis wrote to the cardinals on 11 July after re- ceiving a list of five questions, or dubia, from the cardinals a day earlier. In it, Francis suggests that such blessings could be studied if they did not confuse the blessing with sacramental marriage. The letter was published just two days before the start of a ma- jor three-week synod at the Vati- can at which LGBTIQ+ Catholics and their place in the church are on the agenda. The Pope's suggestion that LG- BTIQ unions can be blessed vin- dicates Maltese Dominican friar Mark Montebello who stirred controversy in 2015 after he blessed an engagement of a gay couple. Montebello had first expressed his willingness to bless same sex unions long before the introduc- tion of civil partnerships in 2014, and marriage equality in 2017. In an interview with MaltaTo- day in 2005 he had already made it clear that he would not refrain from blessing the union of same sex couples if he was asked to do so. "I would bless them. Of course, I can't celebrate a same sex mar- riage as that is against Church rules. But I would give them a blessing," he had told MaltaTo- day. Subsequently Montebello was banned for six months from speaking on Church issues, mor- als, ethics and faith by former archbishop Joseph Mercieca. After photos of Fr Montebel- lo blessing the rings during the engagement ceremony were uploaded on Facebook in 2015, Archbishop Charles Scicluna had requested a meeting with Monte- bello and the Provincial of the Do- minican Order, Fr Frans Micallef. During the meeting the Arch- bishop encouraged Montebello to continue his outreach to LGB- TIQ+ people, while asking him to continue to follow Church prac- tice and discipline in his ministry, "especially in the celebration of sacred rites and Church rituals." In comments on the church me- dia the Archbishop had praised Montebello for his outreach to the LGBTIQ community and reiterat- ed church teachings that the ritual of the blessing of rings in engage- ment and wedding ceremonies were reserved for couples formed by a man and a woman. In his new letter, Pope Francis reiterated that matrimony is a un- ion between a man and a woman. But responding to the cardinals' question about same sex unions and blessings, he said "pastoral charity" required patience and un- derstanding, and priests could not become judges "who only deny, reject and exclude". "For this reason, pastoral pru- dence must adequately discern whether there are forms of bene- diction, requested by one or more persons, that do not transmit a mistaken conception of mar- riage," he wrote. "Because when a benediction is requested, it is ex- pressing a request for help from God, a plea to be able to live bet- ter, a trust in a father who can help us to live better." While upholding church teach- ings against same sex marriages Francis' response to the cardinals, is being considered to be a depar- ture from the Vatican's official po- sition with the National Catholic Reporter describing the Pope's latest as "an abrupt and intention- al shift" from a March 2021 decree issued by the Vatican's doctrinal office — with the pope's approv- al — explicitly forbidding priests from blessing same-sex unions, with the justification that God "cannot bless sin." Francis added there was no need for dioceses or bishops' conferences to turn such pastoral charity into fixed norms or pro- tocols, saying the issue could be dealt with on a case-by-case ba- sis "because the life of the church runs on channels beyond norms". Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which promotes Church out- reach to LGBT Catholics, said that while the response was not a "full-fledged, ringing endorse- ment" of such blessings, it was very welcomed. In a statement DeBernardo said the Pope's words implied "that the church does indeed recognise that holy love can exist between same-gender couples, and the love of these couples mirrors the love of God". Despite the Catholic Church's current prohibition against blessings for same-sex couples, the Catholic bishops of Belgium published guidelines in Septem- ber that included a prayer and blessing for same-sex unions, while distinguishing them from sacramental marriage. In March, Catholic bishops in Germany had voted to approve plans for same- sex blessings, and last month several priests in Cologne held a public blessing of gay couples in defiance of their diocese's con- servative leader. Fr Mark Montebello vindicated: Pope suggests gay unions can be blessed Pope Francis says blessings of same-sex couples can be considered if they are not confused with wedding ceremonies of heterosexuals Pope Francis's (right) suggestion that priests can find ways to bless same-sex unions without being in breach of church dogma vindicates Maltese Dominican friar Mark Montebello (left) who stirred controversy in 2015 after he blessed an engagement of a gay couple TO reduce the need for more for- eign labour in the construction sector, building permits about to expire should be extended auto- matically, the Malta Developers Association said. Weighing in on the ongoing debate to curb the importation of foreign workers, the MDA said they have become essential for the building industry. The MDA said despite offer- ing wages "substantially higher" than the minimum wage, the construction industry was not finding Maltese people interest- ed to work in the sector. "Foreign workers have thus be- come essential," the MDA said. However, to reduce the need to import more foreign labour to work on construction pro- jects, the MDA is suggesting the automatic extension of permits about to expire. "It is crucial that when a pro- ject starts it can continue until finished… [extending permits] will reduce the pressure to im- port more workers because pro- jects can be done in due course with the current number of workers," the MDA said. MDA's solution to reduce need for imported labour is automatic extension of expiring building permits The construction industry has become dependent on foreign workers