Blessings: A pastoral development anchored in tradition

The Declaration “Fiducia supplicans” on the pastoral meaning of blessings of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith marks an authentic pastoral development solidly anchored in Church tradition and its moral theology. The Dicastery's Cardinal Prefect, Víctor Manuel Fernández, wisely prefaces the Declaration with a brief presentation in which he explains, among other things, what the Declaration is not: it is not a green light to gay marriage, and it is not a change in Church doctrine regarding sexual relations outside of marriage as always a serious matter of sin. So it changes nothing, then? No, it changes a lot; it is almost a revolution. In the Church’s history, however, every authentic revolution is also simultaneously a return to the origins, the missionary presence of Christ in human history.

The starting point of the reality the Declaration has in mind is that of a couple in an "irregular" situation asking for a blessing. To avoid any misunderstanding, let us imagine that they ask not a priest but their parents. Would you give this blessing? I would give it. I would not bless the irregular sexual relationship. Still, I would bless the care they have for one another, the support they give each other in life, the comfort during times of grief, and the companionship in the face of difficulties. Love is never wrong; sexual relations, on the other hand, sometimes are. In the life of this couple, the good and the bad are so closely intertwined that it is not possible to separate them with a clean break. If a daughter of mine were in such a situation I would bless her and certainly pray to God that in the journey of life, He might separate the good from the bad in that relationship by making it a step on the path to truth. God writes straight with crooked lines. I think any father would do the same thing and I don't see how a priest, if he has a father's heart for the members of his community, could do any different.

Of course, there is the danger of scandal. There is the danger that in God's faithful people the poorest and weakest will be misled and will no longer understand what marriage is and why sex outside of marriage is wrong. This is a real problem and one that should not be underestimated. And this is precisely why Cardinal Fernández felt the need to make his preliminary remarks. Of course, it would be easier to come to terms with this problem if there were no commentators who instead of offering clarification sow confusion and distrust. If all the sheep in the fold were safe, the shepherd would merely defend against the wolves at the door of the fold. But if many are outside and lost, then he has to go looking for them, and this involves risks and dangers. The Declaration is a response to a specific pastoral urgency of our time.

Those who ask for a blessing, in the case we are considering here, know that they are doing something that the Church does not approve of and indeed forbids. However, the Church wants to affirm a bond, a belonging. A rebellious belonging but a belonging nonetheless. Will the Church extinguish this smouldering lamplight or keep it alive, whatever is possible?

When I was young (perhaps around half a century ago) it was impossible to imagine this situation. Homosexuals were not demanding marriage; they did not want to marry. They saw marriage and monogamy as forms of oppression by bourgeois society and demanded free sex and the separation of sex and love. Or better: they thought sex was real and love only an illusion. A rethinking within the homosexual movements began perhaps when AIDS appeared (monogamy is the best defence against AIDS) but has since gone far beyond that. Sex is not simply pleasurable gymnastics: it has a natural tendency to deeply involve the person, it needs to be regulated, to take place in a normative context. For some years we have been witnessing a tentative search for a “re-regulation” of sexual relations, a rethinking of sex within a personal relationship, and even a rediscovery of love. It is in this context that the question of gay marriage also arises, unacceptable in itself (as Cardinal Fernández confirms) but an indicator of a discomfort and a search, to which the Church must give an adequate response.

During the synod, the concern of various national churches emerged in confronting these issues. There was a tense confrontation in which each one freely set out his or her reasons and efforts, beyond different ideological positions, to listen to the Spirit and discern what comes from Him and what instead comes from the Evil One. This Declaration offers a first response, at once in line with tradition and open to the new.

Here's some more sophistry coming out of the Vatican:

A shepherd’s heart that never closes the door

And another:

German bishop in Vatican newspaper: Cardinal Fernández has developed the Church’s teaching on blessings

Editor's Note: The Vatican newspaper has published a commentary on Fiducia Supplicans by Bishop Stefan Oster, SDB, of Passau (Germany). Vatican News, the news agency of the Dicastery for Communication, subsequently republished the commentary in German.
“What changes is not the teaching on man, but rather that on blessing,” Bishop Oster wrote, as he insisted that the document does not change Catholic teaching on sexual morality. “There is one thing that Cardinal Fernández introduces as a true innovation: he develops the doctrine of blessing expressly outside of liturgical celebrations.”
Cardinal Fernández interprets a request for a blessing “theologically, as an ascending request for blessing to receive God’s grace and therefore, as a supplicant, to be able to live better,” Bishop Oster continued. “One can pray spontaneously and freely so that God’s will may be fulfilled in their life too. And in this sense, every person and even every couple can now be blessed.”
Bishop Oster said that the new Vatican document will be “clarifying” in Germany, as it “meets the requests for the blessing” of same-sex couples while “expressly prohibiting liturgies and rites for such blessings.” The document thus “could halt a trend that risks moving [the Church in Germany] away from the universal Church.”
By dissociating blessing from approval, Bishop Oster added, Cardinal Fernández has addressed an issue that was the topic of much discussion at the October 2023 Synod of Bishops. When the Synod meets again in October 2024, “the participants in the Synod could, according to Pope Francis’s desire, focus on what is the true principal theme: becoming a more synodal, missionary, and participatory Church.”

L'Osservatore Romano (Italian) - December 28

Diocese of Wote bars priests from blessing same-sex couples in defiance of Fiducia Supplicans

Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru of the Catholic Diocese of Wote, in a statement on Wednesday addressed to all priests and religious men and women in Wote, said the Vatican declaration Fiducia Supplicans seriously contradicts scripture and Catholic tradition on marriage and sexuality.

“The Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith ‘FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS’ should be rejected in totality, and we faithfully uphold the Gospel teachings and Catholic tradition teachings on marriage and sexuality,” Rt. Rev. Kariuki said in the letter.

“I hereby prohibit all priests in the Catholic Diocese of Wote from blessing couples in irregular situations or same-sex couples,” Bishop Kariuki declared.

The full text of this firm and clear letter is below:

Date: 27 December, 2023

TO ALL PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS MEN AND WOMEN IN THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF WOTE

Dear sons and daughters, I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ at the same time wish you all Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year 2024. Happy Feast of Saint John, The Apostle and Evangelist.

Many of you, in the recent past, have asked me to give a clear way forward concerning Blessings of Couples in Irregular Situation and the Same-Sex couples" as contained in the Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith "FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS" on the Pastoral Significance of Blessings released on 18* December, 2023.

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez of the Dicastery of Doctrine of Faith should have widely done enough consultation before releasing such a controversial declaration.

First, I exhort all the priests and religious men and women to take adequate time to study keenly the Declaration Fiducia Supplicans - on the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings. Second, while is true that the declaration Fiducia Supplicans does not change the Catholic Doctrine on marriage and sexuality it however, opens a new dangerous door that is totally unacceptable for it gives the possibility of approval of quasi-ritual blessing formulae that will lead the Catholic Church to bless these couples in irregular situation and same-sex couples in a liturgical set up in the future.

Dear sons and daughters allow me to echo the words of Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Ukrainian Catholic Prelate who said that blessing of a priest always has an Evangelical Catechetical dimension and therefore can in no way contradict the teaching of the Catholic Church about family as a faithful, indissoluble, and fruitful union of love between a man and a woman, which our Lord Jesus Christ raised to the dignity of the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony.

Cardinal Shevchuk affirms that pastoral prudence urges us to avoid ambiguous gestures, expressions and concepts that would distort or misrepresent God's word and the teaching of the Church.

I hereby prohibit all priests in the Catholic Diocese of Wote from blessing of couples in irregular situation or same-sex couples: For "It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage... as is the case of the unions between persons of the same-sex.

I am of the opinion that Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez of the Dicastery of Doctrine of Faith should have widely done enough consultation before releasing such a controversial declaration.

His idea and thought that Cardinals and Bishops cannot prohibit what Pope Francis has permitted with Fiducia Supplicans is mistaken. We Bishops, like Saints Peter and John, we will say "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight for us to obey you rather than God." (ct. Acts 4,19-20)

Since this declaration totally contradicts what Pope Francis himself approved in 2021 concerning same-sex unions - that may no manner be blessed because the Church cannot ask God to bless sin, I hereby prohibit all priests in the Catholic Diocese of Wote from blessing of couples in irregular situation or same-sex couples: For "It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage... as is the case of the unions between persons of the same-sex. The presence of such relationships of positive elements... cannot justify those relationships and render them legitimate objects of ecclesial blessings" (Cf. 2021 DDF). In fact what is disturbing in this declaration is that, on one hand, it directs the priests to bless these couples without specifying what exactly is being blessed, while on the other hand, it expressly forbids any ritual text that might specify it, For Pastoral reasons, | therefore, exhort my priests to invite those couples to a life of conversion by the words of the Gospel "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1,14).

The Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith "FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS" should be rejected in totality and we faithfully uphold the Gospel teachings and Catholic traditional teachings on Marriage and sexuality.

Repentance is metanoia in Greek and it simply means a change of mind. However, we often speak of repentance as a turning from sin. When a sinner repents - he changes his or her mind about sin, the Saviour, and salvation. This is exactly what these couples, like any other Christian, should look for in the blessings. For only a repentant sinner who has a firm intention to no longer sin again can receive blessings. Therefore, to bless couples in an irregular situation or the same-sex couples who are not ready for conversion directly and seriously contradicts the Scripture Teachings and Sound Magisterium. Worse more still, in this 21* Century, it will only support the propagandist of the globalist and ungodly gender ideology.

In conclusion, the Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith "FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS" should be rejected in totality and we faithfully uphold the Gospel teachings and Catholic traditional teachings on Marriage and sexuality.

Your Servant in Christ Jesus

Rt. Rev. Paul Karijuki Njiru

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of WOTE - KENYA

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