Free Republic

German cardinal says Pope Francis’ same-sex blessings declaration ‘never would have happened’ under BenedictA German cardinal in the Catholic Church remarked that Pope Benedict would never have approved Pope Francis' recent edict allowing priests to bless people in same-sex relationships.Cardinal Gerhard Mueller made the comment to Reuters while attending an event marking the one-year anniversary of Pope Benedict's death on Sunday. "It never would have happened [under Benedict] because it was so ambiguous," Mueller told the outlet of Francis' decision. Mueller had served as the Church's doctrinal chief under Benedict, a post he lost upon Francis' ascension.

Blessings: A pastoral development anchored in traditionItalian Professor Rocco Buttiglione, a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, describes the Declaration Fiducia supplicans of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith as almost revolutionary and a return to the Church's origins and the missionary presence of Christ in human history.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...

First gay blessing in Italy, diocese of Italian bishops’ presidentFirst, the civil union at the registry office, then the blessing in church. It’s the first time a gay couple has been blessed in public in an Italian church. What’s more, it took place in Bologna which is the diocese of Cardinal Zuppi, the president of the Italian Bishops' Conference. An act which is in open violation of the Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which forbids such blessings. It’s a demonstration of the pharisaic hypocrisy of certain pastors who, instead of calling the sheep back, proudly...