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Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Press release concerning the reception of
Fiducia supplicans
4 January 2024
We are writing this Press Release to help clarify the reception of
Fiducia
supplicans, while recommending at the same time a full and calm reading of
the Declaration so as to better understand its meaning and purpose.
1. Doctrine
The understandable statements of some Episcopal Conferences regarding the
document
Fiducia supplicans have the value of highlighting the need for a
more extended period of pastoral reflection. What is expressed by these
Episcopal Conferences cannot be interpreted as doctrinal opposition, because the
document is clear and definitive about marriage and sexuality. There are several
indisputable phrases in the Declaration that leave this in no doubt:
«This Declaration remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about
marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a
liturgical rite that can create confusion». One acts in these situations of couples in irregular situations
«without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s
perennial teaching on marriage» (Presentation).
«Therefore, rites and prayers that could create confusion between what
constitutes marriage – which is the “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a
woman, naturally open to the generation of children”–and what contradicts it are inadmissible. This conviction is grounded in the
perennial Catholic doctrine of marriage; it is only in this context that sexual
relations find their natural, proper, and fully human meaning. The Church’s
doctrine on this point remains firm» (4).
«Such is also the meaning of the Responsum of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, which states that the Church does not have the power to
impart blessings on unions of persons of the same sex» (5).
«For this reason, since the Church has always considered only those sexual
relations that are lived out within marriage to be morally licit, the Church
does not have the power to confer its liturgical blessing when that would
somehow offer a form of moral legitimacy to a union that presumes to be a
marriage or to an extra-marital sexual practice» (11).
Evidently, there is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally from this
Declaration or to consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the
Church or blasphemous.
2. Practical reception
Some Bishops, however, express themselves in particular regarding a practical
aspect: the possible blessings of couples in irregular situations. The
Declaration contains a proposal for short and simple pastoral blessings (neither
liturgical nor ritualised) of couples in irregular situations (but not of their
unions), underlining that these are blessings without a liturgical format which
neither approve nor justify the situation in which these people find themselves.
Documents of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith such as
Fiducia
supplicans, in their practical aspects, may require more or less time for
their application depending on local contexts and the discernment of each
diocesan Bishop with his Diocese. In some places no difficulties arise for their
immediate application, while in others it will be necessary not to introduce
them, while taking the time necessary for reading and interpretation.
Some Bishops, for example, have established that each priest must carry out the
work of discernment and that he may, however, perform these blessings only in
private. None of this is problematic if it is expressed with due respect for a
text signed and approved by the Supreme Pontiff himself, while attempting in
some way to accommodate the reflection contained in it.
Each local Bishop, by virtue of his own ministry, always has the power of
discernment in loco, that is, in that concrete place that he knows better
than others precisely because it is his own flock. Prudence and attention to the
ecclesial context and to the local culture could allow for different methods of
application, but not a total or definitive denial of this path that is proposed
to priests.
3. The delicate situation of some countries
The cases of some Episcopal Conferences must be understood in their contexts. In
several countries there are strong cultural and even legal issues that require
time and pastoral strategies that go beyond the short term.
If there are laws that condemn the mere act of declaring oneself as a homosexual
with prison and in some cases with torture and even death, it goes without
saying that a blessing would be imprudent. It is clear that the Bishops do not
wish to expose homosexual persons to violence. It remains vital that these
Episcopal Conferences do not support a doctrine different from that of the
Declaration signed by the Pope, given that it is perennial doctrine, but rather
that they recommend the need for study and discernment so as to act with
pastoral prudence in such a context.
In truth, there are not a few countries that, to varying degrees, condemn, prohibit and
criminalize homosexuality. In these cases, apart from the question of blessings, there exists a great and
wide-ranging pastoral responsibility that includes training, the defense of
human dignity, the teaching of the Social Doctrine of the Church and various
strategies that do not admit of a rushed response.
4. The real novelty of the document
The real novelty of this
Declaration, the one that requires a generous
effort of reception and from which no one should declare themselves excluded, is
not the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations. It is the
invitation to distinguish between two different forms of blessings: “liturgical
or ritualized” and “spontaneous or pastoral”. The Presentation clearly explains that «the value of this document […] is that it offers a specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral
meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of the
classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a liturgical
perspective». This «theological reflection, based on the pastoral vision of
Pope Francis, implies a real development from what has been said about blessings
in the Magisterium and the official texts of the Church».
In the background is found the positive evaluation of “popular pastoral care”
which appears in many of the Holy Father’s texts. In this context, the Holy
Father invites us to value the simple faith of the People of God who, even in
the midst of their sins, emerge from their everyday lives and open their hearts
to ask for God’s help.
For this reason, rather than the blessing of couples in irregular unions, the
text of the Dicastery has adopted the other profile of a “Declaration”, which is
much more than a responsum or a letter. The central theme, which invites
us especially to a deeper pastoral practice which enriches our pastoral praxis,
is to have a broader understanding of blessings and of the proposal that these
pastoral blessings, which do not require the same conditions as blessings in a
liturgical or ritual context, flourish. Consequently, leaving polemics aside,
the text requires an effort to reflect serenely, with the heart of shepherds,
free from all ideology.
Although some Bishops consider it prudent not to impart these blessings for the
moment, we all need to grow equally in the conviction that: non-ritualized
blessings are not a consecration of the person nor of the couple who receives
them, they are not a justification of all their actions, and they are not an
endorsement of the life that they lead. When the Pope asked us to grow in a
broader understanding of pastoral blessings, he proposed that we think of a way
of blessing that does not require the placing of so many conditions to carry out
this simple gesture of pastoral closeness, which is a means of promoting
openness to God in the midst of the most diverse circumstances.
5. How do these “pastoral blessings” present themselves in concrete terms?
To be clearly distinguished from liturgical or ritualized blessings, “pastoral
blessings” must above all be very short (see n. 38). These are blessings lasting
a few seconds, without an approved ritual and without a book of blessings. If
two people approach together to seek the blessing, one simply asks the Lord for
peace, health and other good things for these two people who request it. At the
same time, one asks that they may live the Gospel of Christ in full fidelity and
so that the Holy Spirit can free these two people from everything that does not
correspond to his divine will and from everything that requires purification.
This non-ritualized form of blessing, with the simplicity and brevity of its
form, does not intend to justify anything that is not morally acceptable.
Obviously it is not a marriage, but equally it is not an “approval” or
ratification of anything either. It is solely the response of a pastor towards
two persons who ask for God’s help. Therefore, in this case, the pastor does not
impose conditions and does not enquire about the intimate lives of these people.
Since some have raised the question of what these blessings might look like, let
us look at a concrete example: let us imagine that among a large number making a
pilgrimage a couple of divorced people, now in a new union, say to the priest:
“Please give us a blessing, we cannot find work, he is very ill, we do not have
a home and life is becoming very difficult: may God help us!”.
In this case, the priest can recite a simple prayer like this: “Lord, look at
these children of yours, grant them health, work, peace and mutual help. Free
them from everything that contradicts your Gospel and allow them to live
according to your will. Amen”. Then it concludes with the sign of the cross
on each of the two persons.
We are talking about something that lasts about 10 or 15 seconds. Does it make
sense to deny these kinds of blessings to these two people who ask for them? Is
it not more appropriate to support their faith, whether it be small or great, to
assist them in their weaknesses with a divine blessing, and to channel that
openness to transcendence which could lead them to be more faithful to the
Gospel?
In order to avoid any doubt, the
Declaration adds that, when the blessing
is requested by a couple in an irregular situation, «even though it is expressed outside the rites prescribed by the liturgical
books, this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies
of a civil union, and not even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed
with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding. The same
applies when the blessing is requested by a same-sex couple» (n. 39). It remains clear, therefore, that the blessing must not take place in a
prominent place within a sacred building, or in front of an altar, as this also
would create confusion.
For this reason, every Bishop in his Diocese is authorized by the Declaration
Fiducia supplicans to make this type of simple blessing available, bearing
in mind the need for prudence and care, but in no way is he authorized to
propose or make blessings available that may resemble a liturgical rite.
6. Catechesis
In some places, perhaps, some catechesis will be necessary that can help
everyone to understand that these types of blessings are not an endorsement of
the life led by those who request them. Even less are they an absolution, as
these gestures are far from being a sacrament or a rite. They are simple
expressions of pastoral closeness that do not impose the same requirements as a
sacrament or a formal rite. We will all have to become accustomed to accepting
the fact that, if a priest gives this type of simple blessings, he is not a
heretic, he is not ratifying anything nor is he denying Catholic doctrine.
We can help God’s People to discover that these kinds of blessings are just
simple pastoral channels that help people give expression to their faith, even
if they are great sinners. For this reason, in giving a blessing to two people
who come together to ask for it spontaneously, we are not consecrating them nor
are we congratulating them nor indeed are we approving that type of union. In
reality the same happens when individuals are blessed, as the individual who
asks for a blessing – not absolution – could be a great sinner, but this does
not mean we deny him this paternal gesture in the midst of his struggle to
survive.
If this is clarified as a result of good catechesis, we can free ourselves from
the fear that these blessings of ours may express something inadequate. We can
be freer and perhaps closer and more fruitful ministers, with a ministry that is
full of gestures of fatherhood and hospitality, without fear of being
misunderstood.
We ask the newly-born Lord to shower a generous and gracious blessing upon
everyone so that we can live a holy and happy 2024.
Víctor Manuel Card. Fernández
Prefect
Mons. Armando Matteo
Secretary for the Doctrinal Section
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