The first public blessing of same-sex couples in a church has taken place in Poland at an ecumenical service involving both Catholic and Protestant clergy.
The ceremony took place at the 19th-century Evangelical Reformed Parish in Warsaw – part of the Calvinist Polish Reformed Church – following a service to mark International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
It was led by the pastor of that church, Michał Jabłoński, alongside Halina Radacz, a pastor from the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, Poland’s largest and oldest Protestant church denomination, and Adam Świeżyński, a Roman Catholic priest.
Among the couples to be blessed were Artur and Jan, who are both practising Catholics but who hide their relationship from their local parish priest.
“This blessing is very important to us; it is an extra injection of strength for our further life together,” Artur told news magazine Wprost. “We are both believers. Faith allowed us to survive the numerous crises that appeared in our lives. Sometimes it was the strongest anchor that kept us alive.”
“We are ordinary people; we love and suffer just like everyone else,” added Jan. “Hate is the most destructive feeling. And love of God and neighbour is the most important commandment resulting from the teachings of Jesus.”
🔴 W Warszawie odbyło się pierwsze w Polsce publiczne błogosławieństwo par jednopłciowych.
– To dla nas zastrzyk potężnej siły na wspólne życie – podkreślają Artur i Jan, którzy je otrzymali.https://t.co/vPzDGCJua9
— WPROST.pl (@TygodnikWPROST) May 17, 2024
One of the main organisers of the service, Uschi Pawlik of the Faith and Rainbow Foundation, is also a Catholic. She told Wprost that she understands how, for many of her fellow believers, blessing same-sex couples is unacceptable.
“But Pope Francis clearly shows a change in thinking about relationships in the Church and a transition from rigid rules and principles to pastoral flexibility,” added Pawlik. “There are more and more Polish Roman Catholic priests who support LGBT+ people.”
Last year, the Vatican issued a declaration on Catholic doctrine, titled Fiducia supplicans, that allowed priests to bless members of unmarried couples, including same-sex ones.
Pope Francis decided to allow Catholic priests to bless members of same-sex couples. He tells 60 Minutes why, saying “the blessing is for everyone.” https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/fIPnGvmK4x
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 17, 2024
Świeżyński, the Catholic priest who co-led yesterday’s ceremony in Warsaw, told Wprost that he hopes Fiducia supplicans will eventually open the way to such blessings taking place in Catholic churches in Poland.
“The fact that this is not currently happening is incomprehensible to me and makes me feel ashamed,” he added. “I interpret this as a denial of Christ’s teaching and a practical negation of his attitude towards people.”
Catholicism is Poland’s dominant religion: over 90% of the population are officially classified as Catholics and, in the 2021 national census, 71% of people identified themselves as Catholics.
“LGBT ideology” is similar to Nazism and communism and must be resisted, says the Archbishop of Kraków, who also warns that the problem of paedophilia in the Catholic Church should not be exaggerated https://t.co/dxhRNF7r3c
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 8, 2019
The Catholic church hierarchy in Poland takes a strongly conservative position on LGBT+ issues. Some church figures have associated themselves with a campaign, led by the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, against what they call “LGBT ideology”.
Poland itself offers far fewer rights to LGBT+ people than most other European countries. Indeed, earlier this week, it was ranked as the EU’s worst country for LGBT+ people for the fifth year running in an annual index.
However, the new, more liberal coalition government that replaced PiS in office at the end of last year has pledged to expand LGBT+ rights, including introducing legal recognition for same-sex partnerships.
Poland has been ranked as the worst country in the EU for LGBT+ people for the fifth year in a row https://t.co/5ciljeroir
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 15, 2024
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Main image credit: Miłość Nie Wyklucza/Flickr (under CC BY-ND 2.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.