CV NEWS FEED // The Prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, recently traveled to Egypt to meet with Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, to try to defuse tensions over Fiducia supplicans.
The May 22 meeting comes as an attempt to reestablish theological dialogue with the Coptic Church, which suspended theological dialogue in March, shortly after the publication of the document that granted permission for priests to give spontaneous blessings to individuals in a same-sex relationship.
The Coptic Church broke from Rome in 451 during the Council of Chalcedon, but had had regular ecumenical relations with the Vatican from 1973 until the most recent controversy surrounding the ever-disputed topic of same-sex couples.
As Catholic Weekly reported, Fernández has previously tried “to assure the Coptic leader that the Catholic Church does not accept same-sex relationships;” but the latest meeting’s results are not yet clear.
According to Vatican News, Fernández “conveyed greetings from Pope Francis,” to the Coptic leader, and subsequently reiterated that both Fiducia supplicans and Dignitas infinita “affirm that marriage is solely the union between a man and a women open to the transmission of life, and confirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to ‘same-sex marriage.’”
Fernández reportedly communicated to His Holiness Tawadros II that “the Catholic Church shares the teachings of [Fiducia supplicans], and has a positive view of its pastoral approach.”
The Prefect also emphasized the “spontaneous” nature of the blessings, which he said contain “those aids of the Holy Spirit that Catholics call ‘actual graces,’ which push the sinner towards conversion and maturation.”
“During the conversation, Tawadros II also explained to Fernández the historical, cultural, and social ethos of the Egyptian people,” Vatican News’ report stated.
