The Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has established a “guideline for clerics that all people, regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation, may be blessed individually, but that the common blessing of couples living together in a purely conjugal relationship, couples in a non-ecclesiastically valid marriage or same-sex couples should always be avoided,” Hungary’s bishops said in a statement that followed the publication of Fiducia Supplicans, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s declaration on the pastoral meaning of blessings.
“We accompany all our brothers and sisters in particular life situations with love and respect, helping them to a deeper understanding of God’s will on the path of life according to the Gospel of Christ,” Hungary’s bishops added.
The Central European nation of 9.7 million (map) is 87% Christian (58% Catholic), 8% agnostic, and 4% atheist.