December 18th saw the publication of the doctrinal document Fiducia Supplicans by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith which comes out in favour of the blessing of homosexual couples. Since then, opposition has been mounting to a document that—by deliberately fostering confusion—appears to be a major reversal of the moral doctrine hitherto in force within the Catholic Church.
Unsurprisingly, well-known figures from traditional circles have been quick to make their voices heard. Cardinal Müller, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery from which the document emanates, who left office in 2017, circulated a text in numerous media in which he vigorously condemned Fiducia Supplicans, proposing to provide a “clear and unequivocal” response to the questions raised by a document without precedent in the history of the Church, which openly proposes to bless sin. It points out that the doctrinal statement, far from being in continuity with Church teaching, is based almost entirely on the “pastoral magisterium of Pope Francis.” It is also “self-contradictory,” since “we can only accept that it is good to bless these unions, even in a pastoral way, if we believe that these unions are not objectively contrary to the law of God. It follows that as long as Pope Francis continues to affirm that homosexual unions are always contrary to the law of God, he is implicitly affirming that such blessings cannot be given.” Cardinal Müller concludes that “Blessing homosexual couples constitutes a sacrilegious and blasphemous act against the Creator’s plan.”
What is new is the growing number of institutional responses to same-sex blessings, along the same lines as Cardinal Müller’s comments. The African churches strongly reacted against the papal text, not just by individual statements from African prelates, but with official declarations by bishops’ conferences. They condemned the content of the document, and even forbade their priests locally from carrying out such blessings, which are deemed contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church. Ghana and Malawi led the way, soon to be followed by Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, and Cameroon. Most of the bishops’ conferences are from English-speaking African countries. The Bishops’ Conference of Malawi, for example, stated that “to avoid confusion among the faithful, blessings of any kind and homosexual unions of any kind should not be permitted in Malawi.”
The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, through Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has asked for a general statement to unify these uncoordinated declarations. The opinions of each bishops’ conference are expected to be compiled by mid-January by the Symposium secretariat, and will almost certainly lead to a general condemnation, placing the Churches of Africa in open rebellion against Rome.
Reactions were more scattered in Europe, but some vigorous responses were plain to see. The British Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, representing more than 500 priests and deacons in Great Britain, issued a statement saying that “blessings of homosexual ‘couples’ are theologically, pastorally and practically inadmissible.” The concern of the British Catholic clergy could be explained by their ability to observe at first hand the Anglican Church’s moral excesses, and the dramatic consequences these have in terms of confusion and disaffection among the faithful.
In Western Europe, the bishops’ conferences of Belgium and Germany have welcomed the document. Bishop Georg Bätzing, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, said he was grateful for the “pastoral perspective” of the declaration. The Austrian bishops expressed themselves in similar terms, while the Flemish bishops of Belgium felt confirmed in their innovations of recent months.
For the time being, the French bishops are keeping a relatively low profile on the subject, although the former archbishop of Paris, Msgr. Michel Aupetit, has communicated unambiguously on X, albeit laconically: “The Church’s teaching in the footsteps of Christ is constant: we must bless the sinner who is loved by God, but never the sin that separates him from God. This must enable the sinner to stop sinning and repent in order to return to the Lord,” he declared a few days after the publication of Fiducia Supplicans. The bishops of Lorraine, on the other hand, welcomed the declaration. The archbishop of Sens and Auxerre told the newspaper La Croix that, overall, a “lukewarm reception” was to be expected in France. Msgr. Aillet, the conservative bishop of Bayonne, took his time to issue a long document, in which he recalls the foundations of Catholic doctrine on marriage and expresses his concern about the interpretation in favour of the blessing of homosexual unions that the papal document makes inevitable.
In the East, opposition came unsurprisingly from the bishops’ conferences of Hungary and Poland. The Hungarian bishops recommended “always avoiding common blessings for couples who live together in a non-conjugal partnership or in a marriage that is not valid in the Church, or who live in a same-sex partnership.” Kazakhstan also objected, through the voice of the archbishop of Astana Tomasz Peta and his auxiliary Msgr. Schneider.
The opposition aroused by this text carries within it the seeds of schism, as shown by the reaction of the Greek-Catholic Church of Ukraine articulated by Archbishop Shevchuk, who considers that Fiducia Supplicans cannot apply to his community, which is formally in full communion with Rome but asks that its tradition and autonomy be respected on this contentious point.
A protest on this scale is unprecedented in the Church’s recent history. At a time when Christians are celebrating the feast of the Saviour’s birth, a deep-seated discord has arisen that is bound to leave its mark and endure over the coming months, making the recent “Synod on Synodality” initiative—a period of consultation and discernment across the Catholic Church—even more illusory and futile. Disharmony over same-sex blessings will further undermine a process that has yet to improve either on Church governance or its moral teaching.
Catholic Blessings for Same-Sex Couples: An International Rebellion
Pope Francis arrives for the weekly general audience at the Paul-VI hall in the Vatican on December 27, 2023.
Photo: Andreas SOLARO / AFP
December 18th saw the publication of the doctrinal document Fiducia Supplicans by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith which comes out in favour of the blessing of homosexual couples. Since then, opposition has been mounting to a document that—by deliberately fostering confusion—appears to be a major reversal of the moral doctrine hitherto in force within the Catholic Church.
Unsurprisingly, well-known figures from traditional circles have been quick to make their voices heard. Cardinal Müller, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery from which the document emanates, who left office in 2017, circulated a text in numerous media in which he vigorously condemned Fiducia Supplicans, proposing to provide a “clear and unequivocal” response to the questions raised by a document without precedent in the history of the Church, which openly proposes to bless sin. It points out that the doctrinal statement, far from being in continuity with Church teaching, is based almost entirely on the “pastoral magisterium of Pope Francis.” It is also “self-contradictory,” since “we can only accept that it is good to bless these unions, even in a pastoral way, if we believe that these unions are not objectively contrary to the law of God. It follows that as long as Pope Francis continues to affirm that homosexual unions are always contrary to the law of God, he is implicitly affirming that such blessings cannot be given.” Cardinal Müller concludes that “Blessing homosexual couples constitutes a sacrilegious and blasphemous act against the Creator’s plan.”
What is new is the growing number of institutional responses to same-sex blessings, along the same lines as Cardinal Müller’s comments. The African churches strongly reacted against the papal text, not just by individual statements from African prelates, but with official declarations by bishops’ conferences. They condemned the content of the document, and even forbade their priests locally from carrying out such blessings, which are deemed contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church. Ghana and Malawi led the way, soon to be followed by Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, and Cameroon. Most of the bishops’ conferences are from English-speaking African countries. The Bishops’ Conference of Malawi, for example, stated that “to avoid confusion among the faithful, blessings of any kind and homosexual unions of any kind should not be permitted in Malawi.”
The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, through Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has asked for a general statement to unify these uncoordinated declarations. The opinions of each bishops’ conference are expected to be compiled by mid-January by the Symposium secretariat, and will almost certainly lead to a general condemnation, placing the Churches of Africa in open rebellion against Rome.
Reactions were more scattered in Europe, but some vigorous responses were plain to see. The British Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, representing more than 500 priests and deacons in Great Britain, issued a statement saying that “blessings of homosexual ‘couples’ are theologically, pastorally and practically inadmissible.” The concern of the British Catholic clergy could be explained by their ability to observe at first hand the Anglican Church’s moral excesses, and the dramatic consequences these have in terms of confusion and disaffection among the faithful.
In Western Europe, the bishops’ conferences of Belgium and Germany have welcomed the document. Bishop Georg Bätzing, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, said he was grateful for the “pastoral perspective” of the declaration. The Austrian bishops expressed themselves in similar terms, while the Flemish bishops of Belgium felt confirmed in their innovations of recent months.
For the time being, the French bishops are keeping a relatively low profile on the subject, although the former archbishop of Paris, Msgr. Michel Aupetit, has communicated unambiguously on X, albeit laconically: “The Church’s teaching in the footsteps of Christ is constant: we must bless the sinner who is loved by God, but never the sin that separates him from God. This must enable the sinner to stop sinning and repent in order to return to the Lord,” he declared a few days after the publication of Fiducia Supplicans. The bishops of Lorraine, on the other hand, welcomed the declaration. The archbishop of Sens and Auxerre told the newspaper La Croix that, overall, a “lukewarm reception” was to be expected in France. Msgr. Aillet, the conservative bishop of Bayonne, took his time to issue a long document, in which he recalls the foundations of Catholic doctrine on marriage and expresses his concern about the interpretation in favour of the blessing of homosexual unions that the papal document makes inevitable.
In the East, opposition came unsurprisingly from the bishops’ conferences of Hungary and Poland. The Hungarian bishops recommended “always avoiding common blessings for couples who live together in a non-conjugal partnership or in a marriage that is not valid in the Church, or who live in a same-sex partnership.” Kazakhstan also objected, through the voice of the archbishop of Astana Tomasz Peta and his auxiliary Msgr. Schneider.
The opposition aroused by this text carries within it the seeds of schism, as shown by the reaction of the Greek-Catholic Church of Ukraine articulated by Archbishop Shevchuk, who considers that Fiducia Supplicans cannot apply to his community, which is formally in full communion with Rome but asks that its tradition and autonomy be respected on this contentious point.
A protest on this scale is unprecedented in the Church’s recent history. At a time when Christians are celebrating the feast of the Saviour’s birth, a deep-seated discord has arisen that is bound to leave its mark and endure over the coming months, making the recent “Synod on Synodality” initiative—a period of consultation and discernment across the Catholic Church—even more illusory and futile. Disharmony over same-sex blessings will further undermine a process that has yet to improve either on Church governance or its moral teaching.
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