The Declaration issued by the Vatican affirms this, while asking that this invocation be extended to those who are in what the Church calls “an irregular marriage”, including couples of the same sex. Let us be clear that the Church is not blessing the union in these circumstances; only the people who present themselves for a blessing. Our priests and deacons are asked many times every day for a blessing. In most of these situations, they do not know the intention of the person who is requesting the blessing; only that they are asking for God’s grace in their lives at that moment.