Pope: bless the individuals, not the union
January 26, 2024
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: Pope Francis said that the declaration Fiducia Supplicans authorizes priests to bless individuals, not to bless irregular unions.
In a January 26 audience with members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), the Pope said that the DDF document must be understood to mean that “when a couple approaches spontaneously to ask for [a blessing], one does not bless the union, but simply the people who have requested it together.”
The purpose of Fiducia Supplicans, the Pope said, is “demonstrate the closeness of the Lord and of the Church to all those who, finding themselves in various situations, ask for help to continue—sometimes to begin—the journey of faith.”
The Pope’s bid to clarify the intent of the Vatican document—and particularly to make that clarification in an audience with the dicastery that issued the declaration—shows his sensitivity to the many expressions of dismay issued by bishops and episcopal conferences since Fiducia Supplicans was issued. Pope Francis sought further to allay concerns by saying that in giving blessings, priests should always take into account “the context: the sensibilities, and the places where one lives and the most appropriate ways to do it.”
In other remarks to the DDF, the Pontiff spoke of the need for the Church always to promote the dignity of the human person. “I know that you are working on a document on this matter,” he said.
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Posted by: grateful1 -
Jan. 26, 2024 6:36 PM ET USA
Francis's purported clarification of FS is sick, slick, and corrupt to the bone.
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Posted by: Lucius49 -
Jan. 26, 2024 6:09 PM ET USA
Bless individuals, bless them together: a proverbial distinction without a difference! The purpose of FS to bless those who ask for help to continue/begin the the journey of faith?? This kind of verbiage is equivalent to burying your head in the sand. This is a futile, destructive, attempt to accomodate, dare I say cave, to the LGBTQ etc ideology describing the cave in neutral anodyne language which is simply an attempt to disguise what’s really going on. FS has to be withdrawn!
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Posted by: feedback -
Jan. 26, 2024 11:44 AM ET USA
The Babylon Bee predicted early on that this would happen: https://babylonbee.com/news/pope-announces-church-may-bless-same-sex-couples-as-long-priest-ends-blessing-with-no-homo
