Christian conservative Franklin Graham
has cheered the Vatican's announcement that Roman Catholic priests
cannot bless same-sex marriages.
Priests cannot, the Vatican said,
because “[God] does not and cannot bless sin.”
(Related: Priests
cannot bless “sinful” same-sex marriages, Vatican says.)
According to multiple reports, Pope
Francis approved the statement.
Graham, who is vocally opposed to LGBT
rights, including marriage equality, cheered the move in a Facebook
post.
“It's good to see that the Vatican
got this right,” wrote Graham, the son of the late televangelist
Billy Graham and a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
“Gay people deserve respect and
dignity like everyone does, but we cannot condone actions that are
contrary to the teachings of God's Word.”
“I hope that every church would see
the danger in affirming same-sex marriage and blessing what God has
defined as sin,” he added.
Graham has previously criticized Pope
Francis for his views on LGBT rights.
After the pope said that gay people
have a “right to be a part of the family” and are “children of
God,” Graham claimed that he was attempting “to normalize
homosexuality.”
In 2013, after the holy father
rhetorically asked “who am I to judge” gay people, Graham told
his followers that Pope Francis “is not the judge. God is the
judge.” He also called the pope “very weak.”
In 2012, Graham called on his followers
to approve a constitutional amendment in North Carolina that defined
marriage as a heterosexual union. While voters approved Amendment
One, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 struck down such bans.