The bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State, Pope Francis formally approves for priests to bless same-sex couples, marking a significant shift in Vatican policy. A new document released by the Vatican’s doctrine office on Monday clarifies this by emphasizing that individuals seeking God’s love and mercy should not be subjected to an “exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. 
This document came following a letter from Francis to two conservative cardinals, which was published in October. In the preliminary response, Francis hinted at the possibility of such blessings under certain circumstances, provided they did not conflate with the sacrament of marriage. The new document reiterates this condition and provides further details, emphasizing that marriage remains a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. It underscores that the blessings in question must be non-liturgical and should not coincide with a civil union, employing specific rituals or resembling wedding ceremonies. However, it asserts that requests for such blessings for same-sex couples should not be categorically denied. Furthermore, the document broadens the definition of “blessing” in Scripture, asserting that individuals seeking a transcendent relationship with God and his love and mercy should not be subjected to an exhaustive moral analysis as a prerequisite for receiving such blessings. “Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God. The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live. It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered,” the document said.
Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti ”Financing for the project estimated at a total cost of 263.80 million dollars, will come through an AfDB loan of 100 million dollars. ”A Canada–AfDB Climate Fund (CACF) loan of 15 million dollars; and a 125 million dollars co-financing loan from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). ”The Abia State government will provide 23.80 million dollars in counterpart funding for compensation to people affected by the project and implementation of a Resettlement Action Plan,”it said. According to the statement, the project, which is expected to be completed in 2029, has a total of 248.46 km of road. It said it had 58.03 km of roads in Umuahia and 190.43 km of roads in Aba which would be rehabilitated to asphaltic concrete standards at varying cross-sections. It said: ”Erosion sites in Umuahia and Aba will be reinstated as well as preparatory studies were undertaken for private sector participation in solid waste management for the two cities. ”The project will also include capacity building, project management and development of social infrastructure. ”This includes the rehabilitation of schools and the provision of sanitation facilities in schools, community markets and hospitals.” It said with an estimated population of 553,000 and 814,000 respectively (2022 estimates), Umuahia and Aba, the commercial hub, were currently facing serious infrastructure challenges. The statement said this aroused from decades of underinvestment amid rapid urbanisation and the situation was aggravated by gully erosion and emergence of huge piles of solid waste on the roads. It said when completed, the 1.37 million population in these two cities would benefit from reduced travel time, vehicle operating costs and lower transport cost. ”The project will also create 3,000 temporary jobs (30 per cent for women) at the construction phase, and about 1,000 permanent jobs during the operational phase. ”The permanent jobs will particularly benefit the youths, who will make up 50 per cent of the project.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the meeting of the council presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. “We presented two memoranda to the council; both were approved; the first is with regards to contract cost revision by way of augmentation for the old Enugu-Onitsha road from Opi junction all the way to Udi-Oji to Anambra border in Enugu State. The augmentation was in the sum of N17 billion, which revised the contract sum to N49 billion with an additional completion time of 42 months.’’ The minister said the second contract was a fresh contract for the maintenance of the pavement of the third mainland bridge. He said that maintenance would address public concerns about potholes on the bridge. “And this was approved in the sum of N6.3 billion for a period of 24 months. This contract responds to the questions on potholes that have become manifest on the entire pavement of the deck of the bridge spanning 11 eleven kilometres and the interchanges—Adeniji Adele, Adekunle, and Gbagada ramps that all link the bridge; this is for the resurfacing of all that. “Some of the rails that have been stolen; some of the planes that have misaligned at the ramps that lead you on and off the bridge. So, this is the work that is being done now; so all the experience, avoiding potholes on the bridge; this project will tackle that,’’ he said.