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Fiducia supplicans ("Supplicating Trust") is a 2023 declaration on Catholic doctrine that allows Catholic priests to bless couples that are not married under canon law, including the blessing of same-sex couples. The document, dated 18 December 2023 and published on the same day, was issued by the Holy See's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) and approved with a signature by Pope Francis. It was the first declaration issued by the DDF since Dominus Iesus in 2000.

Fiducia supplicans was widely seen as a stepping stone towards a greater acceptance of homosexuality within the Catholic Church. However, it officially does not innovate or develop Catholic doctrine on marriage and received widely varying interpretations. Pope Francis advised that Vatican bureaucrats should avoid "rigid ideological positions" after it was issued.

Background

In 2021, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (renamed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2022) issued a responsum ad dubium ("response to doubt") that responded in the negative to the question of whether the church has "the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex". The reasons for that answer were set out in an accompanying explanatory note.

Fiducia supplicans reversed this decision.

Contents

Fiducia supplicans provides clarifications and reforms on the church's treatment of what it calls "irregular relationships", that is, those that establish a monogamous and emotional bond that lasts over time and that have not contracted marriage. Most notably, it allows Catholic priests and deacons to perform "spontaneous blessings" of same-sex couples, as well as opposite-sex couples who are not married, and married couples who were previously divorced and have not received an annulment, but only so that they may "be able to fulfill will completely". In an interview Víctor Manuel Fernández, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, explained that such blessings applied to "couples" and that "the union is not blessed, for the reasons that the declaration repeatedly explains about the true meaning of Christian marriage and sexual relations".

The document details that this type of informal and spontaneous blessing is neither a sacrament nor a rite of the Catholic Church, so no special ceremony is performed for it. The document maintains that sexual relations are licit only within marriage, so heterosexual couples are urged to marry and not consider this blessing as an alternative to marriage. All extramarital sexual relations are considered a sin by the Church and continue to be so, which is why it is asked for the affect that may exist between the two people of the same sex involved. The sexual attraction between two people of the same sex is not condemned according to the sexual morality of the church, but the sexual act is.

Fiducia supplicans does not provide for changes with respect to the institution of marriage in the Catholic Church. Marriage is still understood only as the union between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all kind of marriages that are not heterosexual and monogamous, such as same-sex marriage, as well as any kind of heterosexual or bisexual bigamy and polygamy.

Reaction

Fiducia supplicans was seen as a stepping stone towards a greater acceptance of homosexuality within the Catholic Church. However, it officially does not innovate or develop Catholic doctrine on marriage and received widely varying interpretations from canon lawyers, theologians, and commentators. Pope Francis advised that Vatican bureaucrats should avoid "rigid ideological positions" after it was issued. It had a wide range of responses from multiple prelates and episcopal conferences.

In Belgium, Antwerp Bishop Johan Bonny praised the decision as "moving towards" future recognition of same-sex sacramental marriage in the Catholic Church. According to Archbishop Franz Lackner of Salzburg, the document basically means that "one can no longer say no" to blessing same-sex unions. Geert De Kerpel, the spokesperson for the Belgian Catholic Church, stated that it would not have an impact locally, as same-sex unions were already being blessed, but that the declaration would rightfully now apply this situation at an international level. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest, called the declaration "a major step forward in the church's ministry to LGBTQ people" and demonstrated the church affirming same-sex couples' desire "for God's presence and help in their committed and loving relationships". The next day, he blessed a married same-sex couple. In India, Shillong Archbishop Victor Lyngdoh, in a letter to priests and faithful of the Archdiocese of Shillong, reiterated the message of Fiducia supplicans.

The declaration sparked controversy and criticism among conservative Catholics. The Archdiocese of Mary Most Holy in Astana in Kazakhstan condemned Fiducia supplicans, with Archbishop Tomasz Peta and Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider denouncing Fiducia supplicans for contradicting "Divine Revelation and the uninterrupted, bimillennial doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church". They forbade any priest from performing such blessings. The Episcopal Conference of Malawi also prohibited the implementation of the Vatican's declaration, stating that "blessings of any kind and for same sex unions of any kind, are not permitted in Malawi." Similiarly, Zambia and Namibia Conference of Catholic Bishops rejected application of the declaration to avoid breaching the laws of the country and to avoid any lack of clarity in pastoral practice. Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the major archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, invoked the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches in saying the declaration only applied to the Latin Church.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement saying the declaration made "a distinction between liturgical (sacramental) blessings, and pastoral blessings", and that the declaration affirmed that "he Church's teaching on marriage has not changed". American bishop Robert Barron, who serves as the chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, said the declaration did not demonstrate a change in Catholic doctrine on sexuality and marriage. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops also said that the document affirms church teaching on marriage "explicitly". Danish bishop Czeslaw Kozon said that there was a problem not with the content of the statement "but the way it will be received and interpreted". The president of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference, Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi said: "What people do not understand is that if a gay couple goes to the priest to bless them, and the pope says yes, you are blessing the people and not the union".

Also critical were evangelical Protestants, such as Franklin Graham, and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler.

See also

• Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches
• Catholic Church and homosexuality
• Marriage in the Catholic Church

References

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2. Flynn, JD (22 December 2023). "Is the 'false narrative' narrative a false narrative?". The Pillar. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
3. Liedl, Jonathan (18 December 2023). "Vatican Says Priests Can Bless Same-Sex Couples Without Condoning Their Lifestyles". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023.
4. Faiola, Anthony; Pitrelli, Stefano (18 December 2023). "Pope Francis allows blessings of same-sex couples, shifting Vatican guidance". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
5. ^ Beltrán, Edgar (23 December 2023). "Cardinal Fernández: Same-sex blessing 'does not validate or justify anything'". The Pillar. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
6. Pinedo, Peter (21 December 2023). "More bishops voice criticism—and support—for Vatican document on blessing same-sex couples". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
7. ^ Hudson, Patrick (18 December 2023). "DDF declaration opens door to blessings for 'irregular' couples". The Tablet. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023.
8. ^ Lamb, Christopher (19 December 2023). "Analysis: Pope's approval of same-sex blessings marks historic shift for gay Catholics". CNN. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ...the pastoral openness he's modelled to gay people lays the foundation stones for even more significant reforms in the future.
9. ^ Pinedo, Peter (21 December 2023). "More bishops voice criticism — and support — for Vatican document on blessing same-sex couples". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
10. ^ Winfield, Nicole (21 December 2023). "After approving blessings for same-sex couples, Pope asks Vatican staff to avoid 'rigid ideologies'". AP News. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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13. Weber, Peter (19 December 2023). "The Vatican's same-sex blessing approval: What is Pope Francis doing?". The Week. Retrieved 23 December 2023. The declaration from the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith supersedes a 2021 document that rejected the idea of blessing same-sex unions, because "God cannot bless sin."
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19. ^ "Bishop Barron Says New Vatican Document Affirms Church's Timeless Teaching on Marriage". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Press release). Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
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22. Kahiu, Magdalene. "Blessing of Same-Sex Couples 'not for implementation in Zambia': Catholic Bishops". ACI Africa. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
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24. Minten, Dominique (18 December 2023). "Bonny tevreden dat priesters homokoppels mogen zegenen: "Helpt ons vooruit"". De Standaard (in Flemish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
25. Lackner, Franz (19 December 2023). "Lackner: Segenswunsch eines gleichgeschlechtlichen Paares nachkommen". Catholic Church in Austria. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
26. Le Bacq, Tom (18 December 2023). ""Ik ben er zeker van dat dit de paus niet overal in dank zal worden afgenomen": ook homokoppels kunnen voortaan gezegend worden". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
27. Harmon, Amy; Graham, Ruth; Nir, Sarah Maslin (19 December 2023). "Making History on a Tuesday Morning, With the Church's Blessing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
28. Karmakar, Rahul (22 December 2023). "Catholic same-sex couples can now be blessed in Meghalaya". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
29. Drehle, David Von (19 December 2023). "Bless this pope for blessing the blessing of same-sex couples". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
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32. "Communiqué of the Ukrainian Bishops' Conference on the Declaration of the Dicastery of the Faith "FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS" on the Pastoral Significance of Blessings". 20 December 2023. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
33. "Communiqué from the Superior General of the SSPX". FSSPX News. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
34. "Rome: The DDF Authorizes the Blessing of Same-Sex or Unmarried Couples". 19 December 2023. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
35. Athanasius Schneider; Tomasz Peta (20 December 2023). "Archdiocese Condemns "Evil" Vatican Document and Prohibits Same-sex Blessings". OnePeterFive. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
36. Montagna, Diane (20 December 2023). "Archbishop prohibits priests from 'performing any form of blessing' of same-sex couples in response to new Vatican declaration". Catholic Herald. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
37. ""Blessings for same sex unions of any kind are not permitted in Malawi": Catholic Bishops". ACI Africa. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
38. "Biskupské konferencie po celom svete vyjadrili odmietavý postoj proti udeľovaniu požehnania homosexuálnym párom" [Episcopal conference around the world expressed rejection against conferring blessings over homosexual couples.]. Štandard (in Slovak). 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
39. "Top Ukraine prelate says Vat doc on same-sex blessings applies only to Latin church". Crux. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
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External links

• Fiducia supplicans (in English)

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