With the release of Fiducia Supplicans in December 2023, the Vatican permitted Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. The announcement scandalized many traditionalists, but it came with an important caveat: under no circumstances should the blessings resemble a wedding ceremony. For Pope Francis and others committed to traditional church teaching, sacramental marriage is only open to heterosexual couples who enter a lifelong, monogamous covenant.
Church leaders say that nothing can change the traditional definition of marriage because it stems from God’s plan for creation and was confirmed by Jesus himself. In the Catholic movement for LGBTQ affirmation and pastoral care, many of the most visible and committed allies dare not cross what has become a clear doctrinal red line.
Bridget Burke Ravizza’s recently published work, The Sacrament of Same-Sex Marriage: An Inclusive Vision for the Catholic Church unsettles supposedly settled doctrine. Burke Ravizza is a Catholic ethicist and professor of theology and religious studies at St. Norbert College who researches grassroots Catholic ethics of sex, marriage and family life. Based on her research, Burke Ravizza concludes that same-sex marriages “build families and communities that are stable and marked by virtue — contributing to the common good, to church and society. They recognize and celebrate experiences of grace in their daily lives. … De facto, they are sacramental.”
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TAKE ACTION: Contact St. Norbert’s College President Laurie Joyner and let her know what you think about a Catholic college employing someone like Bridget Burke Ravizza as part of their theology department.