Cardinal Fernández: ‘It’s proper for each bishop’ to discern application of Fiducia Supplicans
December 28, 2023
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CWN Editor's Note: Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the Spanish newspaper ABC that it is “proper to each local bishop” to discern whether to grant blessings to same-sex couples—especially in Africa, where “there is legislation that penalizes with prison the mere fact of declaring oneself to be gay.”
The prelate insisted that such a blessing does not entail “accepting a marriage, nor is it a ratification of the life they lead, nor is it an absolution. It is a simple gesture of pastoral closeness that does not have the same requirements of a sacrament.”
“We will have to get used to understanding that if a priest gives this type of simple blessing, he is not a heretic, he is not ratifying anything, nor is he denying the Catholic doctrine on marriage,” Cardinal Fernández added.
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Posted by: feedback -
Dec. 28, 2023 9:26 AM ET USA
It sounds like damage control, but the cat is already out of the bag. The gay blessings already deeply divided bishops and priests everywhere and it also confused and divided many faithful Catholics, who are either horrified or still try to make some sense of this. IMO, the best thing to do now would be invite back to DDF Cardinal Müller or Cardinal Ladaria and let them handle this mess. But that would require humility and admission to fault.
