Welcome to Episode 158 of the Being Human Podcast: Blessings for Same-Sex Couples? (An Invitation to go Deeper) So many Catholics have been shocked, surprised, and confused by the recently-released Vatican document in which Pope Francis responds to questions regarding the blessing of couples in “irregular” or same-sex relationships. In this episode, Dr. Greg offers a response to the issue.    Discussed in the episode:  The importance of transcending political commentary and debates and focusing instead on creating a path forward as a Church; What this current confusion can teach us;  Why this issue is actually an opportunity to bring the Church’s teaching about God’s plan for male and female to the forefront; The importance of deepening our understanding about the truth, beauty, and goodness of 2000 years of Catholic teaching about human sexuality; Why anything outside of God’s plan for marriage between a man and a woman is against our humanity; What Christ’s example of eating with tax collectors and sinners, meeting the woman at the well, and reaching down to the woman caught in adultery means; Why it’s important to have compassion for those struggling with sin, while still being careful not to legitimize the behavior of a sinful relationship; Our role as thoughtful, intelligent, prayerful, and discerning Catholics; Why we need to start with ourselves and our own interior conversion to make the Church better as a whole.   Resources mentioned or relevant:  On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings Declaration;  One Omission and Three False Dichotomies in the Vatican “Declaration” (blog post by Dr. Greg); Being Human Podcast Episodes:  Our recent Gender Series, beginning with Episode #149: A New Approach to the Gender Crisis; Episode #72: The DSM Disease (Part One of Two);  Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II; ;  Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West;  Need help? Schedule a free consultation call with someone on our team to discuss how we can support you; Learn more about our CPMAP Certification! Sign up for Being Human, our weekly newsletter, for encouragement on your journey of becoming the best human you can be; Visit our website to read the CatholicPsych blog, shop in the CatholicPsych bookshop, or discover other resources we have available;  Download The Integrated App for access to free audio exercises, the Catholic Mindfulness Virtual Retreat, courses, prayer resources, and more;  Become a member of the Integrated Life Community to get access to every course Dr. Greg has created, plus the opportunity to participate in Integrated LIVE’s - weekly, Mentor hosted Q&As covering topics like boundaries, communication, trauma, forgiveness, and more! Follow us on Instagram: @catholicpsych.  Contact us! Have a topic or a question you would like Dr. Greg to address on the podcast? Want to give some feedback about this episode? Email us at beinghuman@catholicpsych.com - we would love to hear from you! Rate, review, and subscribe Please help us in our mission to integrate the Faith with Psychology by hitting subscribe and also sharing this podcast with your friends. Please consider rating or leaving a review of our show. It helps us reach other Catholics just like you who want to become more integrated, whole, and happy human beings. For Apple podcasts, click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5 stars, and choose “write a review.” Then type your sincere thoughts about the show! If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out on any episodes. Subscribe to the podcast now!