They cited an excerpt from Fiducia Supplicans that states that “rites and prayers which could create confusion between what constitutes marriage […] and what contradicts it are inadmissible.”
They argued that the declaration “provides guidance so that confusion is avoided at all costs” and the “understanding of marriage, which is only between a man and a woman according to God’s design, is preserved.”
“The declaration makes an unambiguous discernment,” the bishops went on, quoting another portion of Fiducia Supplicans that says the ‘Church does not have the power to confer its liturgical blessing when it can, in a certain way, offer a form of moral legitimacy to a union which presents itself as a marriage or extramarital sexual practice.’”
“This clarifies the debates within certain local Churches, particularly European or American, which pit those who practice liturgical blessings of same-sex couples against those who forbid it,” the bishops said. “Indeed, for the liturgical blessing to be given, ‘it must be ensured that things, places, or events are not contrary to the law or the spirit of the Gospel.’”
The statement was signed by d’Ornellas, head of the ecclesiastical province, as well as Bishop Raymond Centène of Vannes, Bishop Emmanuel Delmas of Angers, Bishop Laurent Dognin of Quimper, Bishop François Jacolin of Luçon, Bishop Denis Moutel of Saint-Brieuc, Bishop Laurent Percerou of Nantes, Bishop Jean-Pierre Vuillemin of Le Mans, Auxiliary Bishop Jean Bondu of Rennes, and Father Frédéric Foucher, diocesan administrator of Laval.
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