A Catholic priest can bless a gay or other unmarried couple as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Catholic Church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage, the Vatican doctrinal office said.
Photos featured this week include the Nativity scene and Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, a procession in the neighborhood surrounding Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in St. Paul and the 30th Posada Without Borders celebration at the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico.
Missionary work and digital culture have come face-to-face — a fact recognized by the Synod on Synodality, which concluded its first session in Rome and is set to resume in October 2024.
Father Stephen Gutgsell, of Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, has died after being attacked in the rectory of his parish.
For the first time in history, 150 homeless people had a festive meal, served by Italian journalists and their families, under the famous baroque Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square.
Father Allen Kuss of Edina has created a Fontanini Nativity scene depicting the Holy Land region, complete with landscape and buildings, including the temple in Jerusalem.
The Vatican hopes to show the pilgrims who come to Rome for the jubilee that the spirit of forgiveness remains front and center of the church’s long tradition of celebrating Holy Years.
Photos featured this week include a Christmas tree in front of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, the Vatican Christmas tree and the 91st lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City.
