The priest had initially suggested that the Vatican’s December 2023 document Fiducia Supplicans allows the type of blessing he administered in April. That document said that Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples as an expression of pastoral closeness without condoning their sexual relations and without making the blessing seem like a wedding.
The way in which he conducted the blessing “came about due to my attempt to provide for them a meaningful moment of God’s grace,” the pastor said in the statement.
“I wanted to do it well,” he said. “A week or so after the fact, I viewed the video. I immediately realized that I had made a very poor decision in the words and visuals captured on the video.”
The controversy “has been a valuable learning experience” for the priest, the statement said.
“I am deeply sorry for any confusion and/or anger that this has caused, particularly for the people of God,” Williams said.
The statement was issued by the Congregation of the Mission, also called the Vincentians, who administer the downtown Chicago parish.
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