Excerpt from the Address of His Holiness Pope Francis
during the Audience with Participants in the Plenary Session of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

In this context of evangelization, I would like to mention the recent Declaration Fiducia supplicans. The intention of “pastoral and spontaneous blessings” is to demonstrate concretely the closeness of the Lord and of the Church to all those who, finding themselves in various situations, ask for help to continue – sometimes to begin – a journey of faith. I would like briefly to underline two things: the first is that these blessings, outside of any liturgical context and form, do not demand moral perfection in order to be received; the second, that when a couple approaches spontaneously to ask for a blessing, one does not bless the union, but simply the people who have requested it. The union is not blessed, but the people. Of course, one must take into account the context, the sensibilities, and the place in which one lives, as well as the most appropriate way to give the blessing.

(Clementine Hall, January 26, 2024)