CV NEWS FEED // After media outlets covered the same-sex civil union of two Uruguayan celebrities as if it were a Catholic wedding “presided by a priest,” the local Catholic bishop was forced to issue a “clarification” regarding a priest’s scandalous application of Fiducia Supplicans.
Revista Gente, Uruguay’s most popular gossip magazine, covered the flamboyant “wedding” between showman Carlos Perciavalle, 82, and marketing manager Jimmy Castilhos, 47. After the ceremony, the couple claimed to have become “the first same-sex couple in the world to receive a Catholic blessing.”
Event organizers moved the “wedding” from a Catholic chapel to a secular venue following massive Catholic pushback. According to Gente, Fr. Francisco Fortalina described the men as “children of God who … have asked for a blessing for you from God our Father.” At the event, Fortalina reportedly said “it is with pleasure that we are present on behalf of the Church to ask that He bless you.”
According to Gente, “the priest clarified that it is a blessing, not a wedding.” The priest added, however, that it was “a way in which the Church wants to show you that God is with you and we know very well that you are also with God because we have spoken intimately with our bishop and we have seen your faith.”
The priest then proceeded to perform the blessing. He placed his hands on Perciavalle’s head and said
Carlos, may God keep you and bless you, lead you along the path of peace and love, and help you grow in dedication to your brothers and in the love that you have to give them, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Fortalina then gave the same blessing to Castilhos, Gente reported, adding: “In the midst of hugs and some tears, both came to say ‘thank you very much’ to the priest after receiving the blessing.”
After several local media outlets described the event as a Church-sanctioned “gay marriage,” Bishop Milton Troccoli of the Diocese of Maldonado-Punta del Este-Minas issued a statement on February 22. The statement came three days after the ceremony.
In the official statement, Troccoli acknowledged that “seeing the repercussions that the blessing of C. Perciavalle and J. Castilhos has had on some people in the ecclesial community, I consider it important to share with you the path taken in relation to this.”
“After the first announcements in the media about a ‘religious celebration’ of marriage in a Church and a clarifying statement from the Diocese, a meeting was held – at their request – to discuss personally and clarify situations,” Troccoli continued.
After a “thoughtful conversation” between the bishop and the two men, “they requested to receive the blessing, a possibility raised by (Fiducia Supplicans) for couples in an ‘irregular situation.'”
“[We] consulted the Apostolic Nunciature in Uruguay about how to proceed in this situation, which was expected to have media characteristics,” Troccoli explained. “We were informed that the blessing had to be given, given that there was a document signed by the Pope, and that we should proceed accordingly.”
The statement continued:
We then informed those interested that the blessing would be given and they were reminded that it would not be in a church, that it was a blessing to the people and not to the union, (it was not a “church marriage”), and that for the same reason it would be discreet, without the presence of guests; which was a simple blessing.
“I understand that the media coverage of the situation may have hurt the sensitivity of some and may have confused others,” Troccoli admitted, but he justified the pastoral decision by explaining that Fiducia Supplicans “seeks to reach out pastorally to those who find themselves in ‘irregular situations.’ And it does not do so for ideological or propaganda reasons, but rather seeking that the charity of Christ reaches everyone.”
“The novelty of the document and its pastoral implications mobilizes us all,” the bishop concluded. “This invites us to a deep reflection about how to continue looking for ways to evangelize. It is a great challenge, which requires prayer, discernment, and reflection.”
Although homosexual civil unions have been legal in Uruguay since 2013, the Catholic Church fought against their legality and has distanced itself completely from any priestly presence at homosexual union ceremonies until now.