Catholic confusion?

The publication of Fiducia supplicans (18 December 2023) is stirring a hot debate. Some say that nothing changed; others say that all changed. The declaration came from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (the former Inquisition), with explicit approval from Pope Francis.

It provides ‘the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex’ (n. 31). The Vatican document also says that there is no question of recognizing gay unions as marriage, that Catholic doctrine on marriage, sex and sexuality does not change, that the blessing is not a sacrament but a sacramental, that it has no liturgical official setting … all important, yet secondary, doctrinal clarifications that do not modify the main point. What had never been officialised in a magisterial document is now part of Rome’s teaching.

In the Presentation, Cardinal Fernández, the Prefect of the Congregation, says the document is ‘a specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings’. The Vatican is aware of ‘innovation’ here, i.e. something never stated before. It also clarifies that it only refers to the ‘pastoral meaning of blessings’, i.e. not involving a sacrament (like marriage). It’s another type of blessing, but a blessing, nonetheless. Therefore, there is innovation within limits.