On the occasion of the Christmas celebrations, the archbishop of Montevideo, Cardinal Daniel Sturla, refused to bless homosexual couples, contradicting the Vatican document approved by Pope Francis that authorizes this type of procedure.
Interviewed by the Uruguayan newspaper El País, Sturla said he was surprised that this "controversial" issue that divides "the waters within the Church" came up at Christmas.
"It is clear that the priest blesses all the people. Now I've been in a prison and I've blessed all the prisoners. If people come to me to ask for my blessing, I always give it to them.
"I remember when we were discussing the trans law, we were in procession in the parish of San Ignacio, and some trans people came to ask me for a blessing and I gave it to them," she added.
"But blessing a homosexual couple is something else," the archbishop said
According to Sturla, the Vatican document does not refer to the blessing of the person but of the couple, something that "the whole tradition of the Church" and a document published two years ago say is not possible to do.
Source: ANSA
PB