Vatican snubs gay union blessings because God ‘cannot bless sin’

The decree distinguished between the church’s welcoming and blessing of gay people, which it upheld, but not their unions (Danny Lawson/PA)

The Vatican has decreed that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions because God “cannot bless sin”.

The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions.