‘I finally feel like my existence has been recognized,’ said one of the couples after blessings in Seoul
In the file photo dated June 1, 2019, participants march during a Pride event in support of LGBT rights in Seoul. (Photo: AFP)
A Catholic priest in South Korea publicly blessed two same-sex couples in line with the Vatican’s guidelines, winning applause from individuals and groups supporting the rights of same-sex couples.
Female same-sex couples – Yeon Yeon and Yoon Hae, and Chris and Ari – have thanked the priest, Father Seungbok Lee, and the Catholic Church for the public blessing following a Holy Mass in capital Seoul on Jan. 20, Kyunghyang Shinmun reported on Feb. 12.
Following the blessing one of the couples said: “I finally feel like my existence has been recognized.”
The couples also expressed hope that the Church would formally approve same-sex marriages in the future.
The Mass was arranged by Arcus (Latin for “rainbow”), a Catholic group founded in May last year with backing from the Archdiocese of Seoul to offer support to LGBTQ people.
Yeon Yeon said that she was very emotional when she and her partner received blessings.
“Tears continued to flow as I listened to the prayer during the blessing. I felt like my existence was being acknowledged for the first time,” Yeon said.
“As a sexual minority couple, I felt like I was not even recognized for myself,” Yeon added.
Six priests from various parishes, nuns, and other supporters of the couples attended the Holy Mass.
Father Seungbok Lee blessed the couples in line with Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust) signed by Pope Francis and published by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith on Dec. 18, 2023.
The document states that Catholic priests could bless a same-sex or other unmarried couple.
However, it cannot be a formal liturgical blessing, nor give the impression that the church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage, the Vatican document said.
Yeon said that she felt many people were supporting same-sex couples and she wanted to recommend other believers to receive blessings and not be worried.
Yeon also expressed her hope that the Catholic church would one day accept sexual minority couples and allow them to “get married in a church.”
Fiducia Supplicans however does not change the definition of marriage – between a man and a woman – that is accepted by the Catholic Church.
The document only provides for an informal and spontaneous blessing which is neither a sacrament nor a rite of the Catholic church.
Chris and Ari, a female same-sex couple in their late 40s who had gotten married in Canada in 2013 and had received blessings along with Yeon and her partner said that they felt recognized by the church as one community.
“The fact that the two of us were blessed together is meaningful in itself,” Chris said.
“[Receiving the blessing] is a big step forward, but I feel that there are still mountains to overcome. I think it will take more time for social changes such as legalizing same-sex marriage,” Chris added.
The LGBTQ community in South Korea faces various forms of discrimination and gaining social acceptance is a challenge for them, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in November 2023.
Around 13,000 same-sex individuals and their supporters gathered for the nation’s first LGBTQ Pride parade in July 2023 after a three-year hiatus. Around 15,000 anti-LGBTQ protesters took to the streets on the same day to oppose the parade.
In April 2023, the Supreme Court of Korea overturned the military convictions of two same-sex soldiers, who had been prosecuted for same-sex conduct under the Military Criminal Act.
In January 2023, a South Korean court ruled against a same-sex couple who had registered for spousal health insurance benefits.
The court asserted that there was no legal justification for expanding the definition of marriage to include same-sex partnerships.
Homosexuality is legal but same-sex marriage is illegal in the nation, according to LGBTQ knowledge base Equaldex.
Conversion therapy is not banned, same-sex couples adopting children is illegal, employment discrimination is not illegal, and same-sex individuals have no protection against housing discrimination, media reports say.
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