Catholic Blessings for Same-Sex Couples: An International Rebellion
By Hélène de Lauzun , European Conservative.
December 18th saw the publication of the doctrinal document Fiducia Supplicans by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith which comes out in favour of the blessing of homosexual couples. Since then, opposition has been mounting to a document that—by deliberately fostering confusion—appears to be a major reversal of the moral doctrine hitherto in force within the Catholic Church.
Unsurprisingly, well-known figures from traditional circles have been quick to make their voices heard. Cardinal Müller, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery from which the document emanates, who left office in 2017, circulated a text in numerous media in which he vigorously condemned Fiducia Supplicans, proposing to provide a “clear and unequivocal” response to the questions raised by a document without precedent in the history of the Church, which openly proposes to bless sin. It points out that the doctrinal statement, far from being in continuity with Church teaching, is based almost entirely on the “pastoral magisterium of Pope Francis.” It is also “self-contradictory,” since “we can only accept that it is good to bless these unions, even in a pastoral way, if we believe that these unions are not objectively contrary to the law of God. It follows that as long as Pope Francis continues to affirm that homosexual unions are always contrary to the law of God, he is implicitly affirming that such blessings cannot be given.” Cardinal Müller concludes that “Blessing homosexual couples constitutes a sacrilegious and blasphemous act against the Creator’s plan.”
What is new is the growing number of institutional responses to same-sex blessings, along the same lines as Cardinal Müller’s comments. The African churches strongly reacted against the papal text, not just by individual statements from African prelates, but with official declarations by bishops’ conferences. They condemned the content of the document, and even forbade their priests locally from carrying out such blessings, which are deemed contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church. Ghana and Malawi led the way, soon to be followed by Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, and Cameroon. Most of the bishops’ conferences are from English-speaking African countries. The Bishops’ Conference of Malawi, for example, stated that “to avoid confusion among the faithful, blessings of any kind and homosexual unions of any kind should not be permitted in Malawi.”
The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, through Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has asked for a general statement to unify these uncoordinated declarations. The opinions of each bishops’ conference are expected to be compiled by mid-January by the Symposium secretariat, and will almost certainly lead to a general condemnation, placing the Churches of Africa in open rebellion against Rome.
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