CV NEWS FEED // This week’s Vatican declaration opening the door to blessing same-sex couples claimed to avoid “any form of confusion or scandal,” but reactions from Catholics, LGBTQ activists, and media outlets would suggest the document produced more confusion than clarity.
CatholicVote reported that Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández released a declaration called Fiducia Supplicans on December 18 that bore Pope Francis’ signature and officially opened the door to Catholic clerics blessing “same-sex couples.”
The document presented the blessing of same-sex couples as a “pastoral” act but affirmed that the Church’s teaching on marriage has not changed. However, several Catholic theologians have since written that the document was unnecessary and only created confusion among faithful Catholics.
Blessing a Union vs. Blessing Individuals
Catholic commentator Phil Lawler wrote for Catholic Culture that Fiducia Supplicans “insists on a distinction between giving a blessing to a homosexual couple and blessing their relationship.” However, Lawler added that it is almost impossible to convey that distinction to the faithful and to the rest of the world.
“Anyone can ask a priest for a blessing; that has never been in question. But when two people ask a priest to confer a blessing on them as a couple, how can the Church avoid the impression that the priest, as representative of the Catholic faith, is blessing their union?” he wrote.
Lawler added that even though Fiducia Supplicans requires the blessing to be spontaneous and avoid the use of words, gestures, or clothing that signify a wedding, it won’t be long before a “same-sex blessing” becomes more of a public celebration that gives uninformed people the impression that the Church supports same-sex unions.
“Bring a young child to such a service, and will that child come home with the understanding that the Church did not bless the union?” he asked.
Lawler also wrote that the document gives pastors space to make their own decisions about supporting same-sex unions.
“The Vatican statement leaves pastors to decide for themselves how they should respond to the couples’ requests,” he wrote:
Yet it cautions them not to rely “on the fixed nature of certain doctrinal or disciplinary schemes.” Forgive my cynicism, but that sounds to me like an invitation to fudge the doctrinal issue, to avoid any unpleasantness that might arise about the Church’s condemnation of unnatural acts.
Annette Jals, a Catholic commentator on X, wrote that Fiducia Supplicans seems intentionally confusing.
“I can’t comprehend why Fiducia Supplicans… was deemed necessary without assuming it was purposely designed to confuse and mislead,” she posted on X. “Aren’t priests already free to bless any person who requests a blessing? Isn’t it already very clear that blessings are not the same as sacraments?”
“While technically-speaking Fiducia Supplicans renders no changes in Catholic doctrine on sexuality, what it does do is leave the widespread IMPRESSION that Catholic teaching has changed,” she continued:
Of course that’s already happening throughout the mainstream media today. I pity the priests who will be approached by homosexual couples requesting church ceremonies to bless their relationships. This WILL happen. Some of those who are refused, WILL sue, and in some cases they WILL win, in light of judges and juries wrongly interpreting a document issued by the Vatican itself.
Did Anything Change?
Though the document itself and Catholic theologians maintain that Church doctrine on sexuality has not changed, LGBTQ activists and mainstream media say otherwise.
LGBTQ supporter Fr. James Martin, SJ posted on X:
Be wary of the “Nothing has changed” response to today’s news. It’s a significant change. In short, yesterday, as a priest, I was forbidden to bless same-sex couples at all. Today, with some limitations, I can.
“The Vatican’s new declaration … is a major step forward in the church’s ministry to LGBTQ people and recognizes the deep desire in many Catholic same-sex couples for God’s presence in their loving relationships,” Martin added in another post:
It is also a marked shift from the conclusion “God does not and cannot bless sin” from just two years ago. Along with many priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends in same-sex unions.
Francis DeBernardo, editor for the pro-LGBTQ organization New Ways Ministry, called the announcement “an early Christmas gift” to same-sex couples.
“The Vatican doctrinal office’s previous claim that ‘God does not bless sin’ has been uprooted by the new exhortation, ‘God never turns away anyone who approaches him!’” DeBernardo stated in a press release.
Both Martin and DeBernardo argued that Fiducia Supplicans replaced the teachings of a 2021 document from the DDF that responded to a cardinal’s question, or dubium, about same-sex blessings.
The 2021 document stated that “[God] does not and cannot bless sin,” and that while the same-sex union cannot be blessed, the individuals themselves can be blessed. Contrary to the claim that the document “has been uprooted,” the previous teaching on blessing same-sex unions still stands.
Media outlets only added to the confusion, as some headlines reported that Pope Francis allowed priests to bless same-sex relationships while others stated that the pope only allowed for the blessing of same-sex couples. CNN also referred to Fiducia Supplicans as a “shift away from” the 2021 DDF document, further adding to the public misconception that the Vatican had recanted its “God cannot bless sin” comment.
On X, the document was hailed by the political organization Occupy Democrats as a “historic announcement” and “a seismic shift in the Church’s policies.”
Consequences of Ambiguity
Eric Sammons, editor-in-chief of Crisis Magazine, broke down components of Fiducia Supplicans for analysis and found that several paragraphs of the eight-page document contain questionable or ambiguous statements on tradition, liturgy, and blessings.
The Vatican document stated: “From a strictly liturgical point of view, a blessing requires that what is blessed be conformed to God’s will, as expressed in the teachings of the Church.”
Sammons commented: “Note the language used to constrict and even vilify the traditional Catholic meaning of blessings: ‘From a strictly liturgical point of view…’”
“There should be no separation between liturgy and life,” Sammons continued:
When a priest “spontaneously” blesses someone or something, it is a liturgical action, even if it’s not strictly defined in Church rubrics. This is because liturgy is our public worship of God, and the act of a priest imparting a blessing on a person, a thing, or a couple, is necessarily included in that public act.
Fernández (and the pope) seek to separate that union of liturgy and life, making liturgy just something we do in Church and under specific guidelines. Liturgy becomes a dead letter instead of what gives us life.
Fiducia Supplicans also stated that “when considered outside of a liturgical framework, [blessings] are found in a realm of greater spontaneity and freedom.”
Sammons countered that there technically is nothing “outside of a liturgical framework,” and added that spontaneity shouldn’t undermine liturgical significance and guidelines.
“In my experience, the best priests always are careful to stick as close as possible to official rubrics when ‘spontaneously’ asked for a blessing. Many even carry the book of Blessings with them so they don’t have to create their own blessings,” he wrote. “They understand that their blessing, while not strictly part of the Church’s official liturgy, is still a liturgical act (and instinctively perceived as one by those being blessed).”
