The Vatican has made it clear that the blessings recently granted to homosexual couples, to remarried divorcees or to couples living together without marriage, described in the eyes of the Church as “couples in an irregular situation”, do not make sense in the “consent” to these Ways of life and will not be “liturgical or ritualized”. That is, the priest who teaches them should not use formal words or ceremonies. They must also be short, lasting “between 10 and 15 seconds”.
The Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, issued a statement this Thursday to clarify some points of the Declaration Fiducia supplicans, which, on December 18, allowed blessings for homosexual couples or in “irregular” cases . Situation. The clarification, which reaffirms that the Church's teaching on marriage does not change in the slightest, was seen as an attempt to calm the waters amid protests from bishops from various countries who urged priests not to bless couples of the same sex an irregular situation. Some representatives of the most conservative wing, such as German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, have spoken directly of “heresy.”
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the former Holy Inquisition, recognizes in its statement that there is still much to consider in this regard. “The understandable statements of some bishops' conferences on the document Fiducia supplicans have the value of demonstrating the need for longer pastoral reflection. “What these bishops' conferences have expressed cannot be interpreted as a doctrinal contradiction, since the document is clear and classic on marriage and sexuality,” said the note signed by Fernández. “We must get used to accepting that a priest who gives such simple blessings is not a heretic, is not ratifying anything, nor is he denying Catholic teaching,” he added. And he suggests doing catechesis in some places “to understand that these types of blessings are not an endorsement of the life led by those who request them.”
Furthermore, he clarifies: “They are not absolution either, because these gestures are far from being a sacrament or a rite.” They are simple expressions of pastoral closeness that do not impose the same requirements of a sacrament or a formal rite .” And he affirms that this non-ritualized, short and simple form of blessing “is not intended to justify anything that is morally unacceptable.” “Obviously it's not a marriage, but it's not even an 'approval' or a ratification of anything. It is simply a pastor's response to two people asking for God's help. That is why in this case the priest does not ask for conditions nor does he want to know the intimate lives of these subjects,” explains the Argentine prefect, who was made cardinal last year by Francisco, shortly before he began his work at the head of the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important organizations of the Holy See.
Fernández claims that “the true novelty of the document” lies in the “call to distinguish” between “liturgical or ritualized” blessings and “spontaneous or pastoral” blessings that can be bestowed on these types of relationships. “These pastoral blessings, in order to distinguish them from liturgical or ritualized blessings, must above all be very short,” the prefect’s statement said. And he provides an example: a priest formulating the prayer: “Lord, look at these two children, give them health, work, peace, mutual help.” Deliver them from everything that contradicts your Gospel and give them a gift Live according to your will. Amen”.
“It’s 10 or 15 seconds. Does it make sense to deny this kind of blessing to two people who beg for it? “Is it not worth strengthening their faith, little or much, helping their weakness with divine blessing and giving a channel to openness to transcendence that could lead them to be more faithful to the Gospel?” asks the Argentinean Prefect.
The declaration signed by Pope Francis approving the blessings for “irregular” couples has already indicated that the priest cannot grant them at the same time as the civil marriage rites, nor can he allow ecclesiastical elements that cause confusion, such as wedding dresses. Furthermore, it is not to be taught in a prominent place in the temple or in front of the altar. Because although the Church allows these “spontaneous” or informal blessings to homosexual couples, it does not homologate them to canonical marriage.
On the other hand, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has also established the procedure to be followed in countries where the declaration of homosexuality is punishable by law with imprisonment and even torture or death. In these cases, “it is obvious that the blessing would be unwise” and “it is obvious that the bishops do not want to subject homosexual people to violence.”
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