The Catholic bishops of the Netherlands have ruled out church blessings for same-sex couples, while allowing for blessings of individuals.
“It is possible to say a prayer about individual believers who live in an irregular relationship,” according to a statement from the Dutch bishops’ conference. “For someone living in an irregular or homosexual relationship, the ordained minister can say a simple prayer outside the context of a wedding celebration or prayer celebration.”
The statement comes in response to the Vatican declaration Fiducia Supplicans—which Bishop Rob Mutsaerts, an auxiliary of the ‘s-Hertogenbosch diocese, characterized as “above all a cowardly document.”