The Vatican, under Pope Francis’ approval, issued Fiducia Supplicans last December 18, 2023. It was a declaration on blessing same-sex couples. Since then, it has created a firestorm in the Church, with very many bishops and even whole bishops’ conferences opposing it. Pope Francis continues to double down on the declaration, utilizing verbal gymnastics to try to justify it. But opposition—from Cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and laity—has also intensified.
Following is a small sampling of comments from prominent personages:
Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, who is a papabile, rejects blessing same-sex unions and the confusion Fiducia Supplicans brings. He opposes a heresy that seriously undermines the Church.
Cardinal Daniel Sturla of Montevideo, Uruguay, says Fiducia Supplicans creates confusion, and reiterates that couples of the same sex are not to be blessed.
An anonymous Cardinal (a member of the College of Cardinals writing under the pseudonym Demos II) says the Church under Pope Francis is more fractured than at any time in her recent history, and that the Pope has a pattern of ambiguity in matters of faith and morals.
Abp Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, USA, says Fiducia Supplicans seems to change Church teaching on the sinfulness of same-sex activity.
Abp Carlo Maria Vigano says the Pope’s blessings for homosexual couples show he is a servant of Satan.
Bp Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, says Fiducia Supplicans is evidently a blessing for sin in a very cunning sophistic form. He tells Pope Francis that he is damaging his own soul and putting in danger the entire world.
Bp Joseph Strickland of Texas, USA calls on Pope Francis and all bishops to return to Christ, and not to abandon the truth that Jesus proclaimed.
Bp Daniel Torres of Puerto Rico says bishops must reject Fiducia Supplicans or risk God’s wrath. He denounces it for causing scandal and great suffering to many Catholics and violating Church teaching.
The Russian Orthodox Church says Fiducia Supplicans damages ecumenical relations and cannot hope for any reunion between Catholics and Orthodox following this.
Patriarch Sviatoslav of the Ukranian Greek Catholic Church says “blessing” means approval, permission or even a spiritual directive for a certain type of action, and that Fiducia Supplicans has given us distortion and misrepresentation, resulting in confusion and division, and most tragically, the loss of souls.
The Coptic Orthodox Church has suspended dialogue with the Catholic Church because of Fiducia Supplicans, which it sees as a change of position on homosexuality.
The Superior General of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), Davide Pagliarani, says Fiducia Supplicans reinforces gravely sinful homosexual unions by teaching that a minister of the Church can call down God’s blessing upon them.
It is also interesting that on December 17, 2023, lightning hit a statue of St Peter on a church in Argentina, blowing off its halo, the keys held by St Peter, and the statue’s right hand. Note: (1) this is the day before Fiducia Supplicans was issued (so possibly the day Pope Francis approved of it); (2) Pope Francis’ birthday is on December 17; (3) the Pope is from Argentina. St Peter is the first Pope, the halo is a sign of holiness, the keys are given by Jesus to signify his office, and the right hand is the one used for blessing others.
In a way, Fiducia Supplicans, which has been a disaster for the Church, is also a blessing. It made many bishops speak out. For a decade now, Pope Francis has been leading the Church to the left, to liberalism, to modernism, to a more Protestant way of living the faith. Currently he has his Synod on Synodality, which I see as the way to ultimately justify and accept homosexuality in the Church, as well as other aberrations.
The rift between liberals/progressives/modernists and conservatives/traditionalists in the Church has widened. Every Catholic needs to seek the truth, and oppose what is contrary to authentic faith. They need to raise their prophetic voices in defense of Christ and his Church.
In case you have not seen it, I attach herewith my Statement on Fiducia Supplicans issued last December 22, 2023.
THE HERMIT OF ANTIPOLO
STATEMENT ON FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS
Pope Francis released this directive on blessing same-sex couples (and other irregular unions). It is dividing our Catholic Church, with many bishops and priests rejecting it outright, but with papal apologists defending it vigorously. It is causing much confusion among the faithful.
I would like to offer my two denarii worth on this matter.
Claim: The blessing is on the person and not on his sinful condition
Indeed, hate the sin but love the sinner. However, Church modernists today just talk of acceptance and accompaniment, but stop short of condemning sin. The result is that the sinner is affirmed in his sin, seeing no need to repent and change course. As such, this becomes not a blessing but a curse. It is false mercy.
Claim: Do not subject the person to an exhaustive moral analysis before giving a blessing Priests do bless people who come for blessings, and do not inquire if they are in a state of grace or sin. But if an obviously gay couple (a couple, not just an individual) comes for a blessing, is it not obvious that they want to be blessed as a gay couple? Giving the blessing then is giving a blessing on a sinful relationship.
Claim: A sinner needs such blessing in order to have grace and strength to live for Christ
Is a gay couple that seeks such a blessing desiring to turn away from sin? Most probably not. If they did, they can just be blessed individually. Such blessings already exist and are being used in the Church. But being blessed as a gay couple, they are now affirmed in their chosen lifestyle. Why then should they repent? The Church has already affirmed their gay relationship. God does not and cannot bless or bestow grace upon a relationship that is contrary to His laws and ways.
Claim: Jesus accepted and blessed sinners
Jesus did come for sinners, as all of us are. We as sinners do need the grace and blessing of God to live our lives according to His ways. But Jesus told sinners to repent and sin no more. He blessed those who genuinely wanted to change or be changed for the better. In coming for a blessing, is a same-sex couple wanting to be delivered from their sin, or wanting to be affirmed in their relationship?
Claim: Such a blessing is in accord with the love and mercy of God
God indeed is loving and merciful. Jesus indeed has come for sinners. But Jesus told sinners to repent and sin no more. The blessing of a same-sex couple, given not to an individual sinner but to the couple as a couple, is false mercy. It keeps the sinners in their sin and thus subjects them to eternal condemnation.
Claim: It is not the same-sex union that is blessed but the couple
This is just so much play on words. Is not what defines a couple the fact that they are precisely a union?
Claim: It is not a liturgical blessing and so cannot be confused with marriage
Apologists take great pain to insist that there is no intent to convey a wrong conception of marriage. Perhaps not, but this is a step in the wrong direction. Do you think same-sex couples will be content with this? They will not. They will push for the next step, which is same-sex marriage. Some Protestant churches have already gone in this direction.
Claim: One should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation
The German Catholic bishops back blessings for same-sex couples, and its Synod adopted a paper to allow blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples from 2026. Now, with Fiducia Supplicans, their timetable is being accelerated, and prayers and liturgy for the blessing of same-sex couples are being prepared. Flemish bishops in Belgium already authorized a text allowing for a ritual blessing of same- sex couples last September 2022.
Claim: Look not on the dark side but on the pastoral good the Pope wants to happen
The Pope and all clerics are pastors, that is, shepherds who are to guide, protect and be a blessing to the sheep. But blessing same-sex couples will not result in any good, but would in fact bring in the wolves and lions into the sheepfold.
What is the pastoral vision of the Pope? For people to be affirmed and remain in their sin? Indeed, modernists in the Church would like to legitimize homosexuality and accept LGBT.
Claim: Priests bless food, cars, new houses and even pets, so why not all persons?
Indeed, persons are entitled to blessings. But given the analogy of blessing a house for example, a priest should not bless a house that is intended as a drug den or a house of prostitution. The very same house, on the one hand, can and should be blessed, but on the other case, should not receive such a blessing. Cardinal Gerhard Muller says that according to the Pope’s directive, “one could even bless an abortion clinic or a mafia group.”
But priests stand in the place of God, from whom the blessing comes. It is unacceptable to give a blessing, even a non-liturgical one, in a situation that is totally opposed to the teachings of Jesus and his Church. If a priest gives such a blessing, he in effect would be rejecting Christ and the teachings of the Church (Pope Francis affirms that homosexual unions are contrary to God’s law).
Claim: Priests should not detach themselves from those who need a doctor.
Jesus came for sinners. Pope Francis himself has likened the Church to a field hospital, treating those who are wounded. But a hospital is not just a place where those in need are welcomed and made comfortable, but where their wounds are actually treated.
In conclusion
Fiducia Supplicans may sound good and may check the right boxes.
Same-sex unions should not be confused with sacramental marriage.
What is blessed must be conformed to God’s will.
Sexual activity outside of marriage is condemned.
To seek a blessing is to seek God’s mercy, desiring to do God’s will.
But blessing same-sex couples in an ongoing sinful relationship is contrary to all the above.
Fiducia Supplicans leaves a great deal of room for alternative interpretations and applications. For me, the basic issue is the blessing of a person versus the blessing of a gay couple. To bless a same-sex couple is wrong and not acceptable.
Because the Church cannot bless what is sinful.
Because a priest should not bless a couple whose very relationship goes against the righteousness of God.
Because homosexual sin has always been condemned by God. In the Old Testament, see Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. In the New Testament, see Romans 1:26-27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
Because sodomy is one of four sins that cry out to God for vengeance (see Genesis 18:20).
Because the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2021 clearly stated that the Church does not have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex.
Because it will cause confusion and great scandal to the faithful, who cannot fully distinguish the nuances of such blessings.
Because it will further divide the people of God, as it is already doing now.
Because it is false mercy, in keeping a same-sex couple in their sin, contrary to the very purported intent of the blessing.
Further, consider how Church people have reacted. Conservatives and traditionalists have strongly opposed this, while liberals/progressives/modernists, especially the LGBTs, are rejoicing in it. Conservatives are trying to hold the line on what is authentic teaching and doctrine, while modernists are remaking the Church into one focused on man and no longer on God. On which side would you like to stand?
Homosexualist Fr James Martin SJ quickly praised the new norms, saying it "recognizes the desire for same-sex couples for God’s presence and help in their committed and loving relationships.” Did you get it? He sees the blessing of same-sex couples as not, according to Cardinal Fernandez (head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith), for them to ultimately be conformed to God’s will, but that they would remain in their homosexual relationship and to be committed to it. And no, Fr Martin, it is not a relationship of love that is of God. It is antithetical to authentic Christian love. Tragically, the modernists in the Church are overturning the meaning of love, which is focused just on human relationships but not the righteousness of God.
Salve Regina.
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