A Spanish archbishop has stated that the Gospel “never condemns” families with same-gender couples as members.

Commemorating the Feast of the Holy Family on December 29, 2020, Archbishop Joan Planellas of Tarragona, Spain, published an article in prominent publication La Vanguardia that calls attention to the goodness of families with same-gender couples. Planellas notes that “the Gospel never condemns”these families, part of his larger message about diversity and strength in family life.

As reported in translation by Mada Jurato of Novena News, Planellas focused on providing respect for same-gender families as one type of family that deserves pastoral care and attention. He writes:

“Today the family structure has ceased to be limited to what we understood as a nuclear family, composed of parents and children, to give way to a diversity of forms that range from living together between men and women without marriage certificates (de facto couples), the single parent family, couples with different homes for husband and wife or families between people of the same sex with legal recognition.”

While the inclusion of same-gender couples in this list indicates a recognition of the changing definition of ‘family’ in the Catholic Church, the reporter feels that the archbishop does not believe “that the family as such is in danger of disappearing, but simply that a certain family model is no longer accepted by a significant number of members of our society.” Read more via New Ways Ministry