Elton John hits out at Vatican 'hypocrisy' for refusing to bless gay marriages

Amy Johnson
·Contributor
·2 min read
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Watch: Elton John calls out Vatican for disapproval of gay marriage while profiting from ‘Rocketman’

Sir Elton John has criticised the Vatican of "hypocrisy" after it said the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex marriages.

The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, responded to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions on Monday saying that God "cannot bless a sin".

John, who married David Furnish in 2014, subsequently lambasting the response on social media as he said the Vatican had invested “millions” in his 2019 biopic Rocketman.

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Elton John arrives at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Elton John lambasted the Vatican for its stance on gay marriage, saying it had invested millions in his biopic Rocketman. (Invision/AP)

“How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they ‘are sin’, yet happily make a profit from investing millions in Rocketman – a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David?? #hypocrisy,” he wrote.

Back in 2019 it was claimed the Vatican had helped to finance the biopic, with the story first published in the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.

The article explored the various investments said to be made be the Vatican via its Peter's Pence fund, stating that “over €4 million went to finance the production of films such as the latest Men in Black and the biography of Elton John, Rocketman.”

Watch: Vatican response on whether Catholic Church can approve same-sex unions: God ‘cannot bless sin’

In its explanation on same-sex unions, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said God “cannot bless sin”.

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“The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan,” it said.

God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognise that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him,” it added.

With additional reporting by PA.