Milan
The Vatican's recent and historic decision to release priests to bless samesex couples has sparked new unrest among the conservative wing of the Catholic Church, which opposes Pope Francis. Since the death of Benedict
On the 18th, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), led by the Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, published the document “Fiducia supplicans”, in which it authorizes the blessing of couples described as “irregular”, a category in which they would fall. Homosexuals, divorced and polygamous.
The text approved by Francis does not change the teaching on the sacrament of marriage, which is permissible only between a man and a woman, and makes it clear that the blessing must in no way resemble the rite of marriage.
Nevertheless, there was criticism in the following days. A leading figure in the conservative group, German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, mayor emeritus of the DDF, which he led from 2012 to 2017, posted a note in response on the American Catholic website The Pillar. In it he explains that the priest who blesses “irregular” couples would be committing an act of sacrilege and blasphemy.
“Blessing a reality that contradicts creation is not only impossible, it is blasphemy. It's not about blessing people who “live in a union that can in no way be compared with marriage,” but rather about blessing the union itself, which cannot be compared with “marriage,” says Müller and quotes an excerpt from the Holy See document.
Elsewhere, the German states that God “cannot send his grace to a relationship that is directly opposed to it.” “If this blessing were given, its only effect would be to confuse the people who receive it. You would think that God has blessed what he cannot bless,” he says. Finally, he warns that the Vatican's criteria for a “pastoral” blessing could also be extended to “an abortion clinic or a mafia group.”
Another negative reaction came from the African continent, to which Pope Francis is paying particular attention. After the Vatican statement, most bishops in Zambia and Malawi announced they would not allow priests to give blessings to samesex couples.
In the United States, where a priest blessed a few men in New York the day after the Vatican's statement, the bishops' conference issued a sober note drawing attention to the difference between liturgical blessings and pastoral blessings. “The Church’s teaching on marriage has not changed and the declaration reaffirms this,” he says.
One of the greatest resistances to Francisco's actions is growing year after year, especially in the USA. The Pope, in turn, began to react. In November, for example, he fired Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. Days later, the Italian press revealed that the Vatican would cut the salary and rent in Rome paid to Cardinal Raymond Burke, an eloquent critic of Francis' synodal process.
“Burke and Strickland come from similar cultures, but they have very different stories,” he says Sheet Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology at Villanova University, USA. “Strickland was more exposed because he was in charge of a diocese from which there were complaints about his way of governing, especially during the pandemic. His removal came in order to protect the Catholics there, following a lawsuit.”
Burke's case would be more confusing. “It is not clear what prompted this decision by Francisco, which could be a doubleedged sword. There is a danger that it will help Burke regain a certain level of fame,” says the professor. At the age of 75, religious can vote in conclaves and theoretically be elected until they turn 80. He is also close to a circle of wealthy people in the US, where he has access to financial resources.
Both Burke and Cardinal Müller, 75, are prominent figures among conservatives, but they have neither the same theological stature as Ratzinger nor the profile to unite currents. “There are some voices that want to take on this role as Benedict’s heir, but they don’t have the same credibility as him,” he says.
Shortly after Ratzinger's funeral in January, Faggioli placed Müller in a more prominent position than the others. But almost a year later, he sees him as more connected to American circles than as a candidate to speak for Benedict's legacy.
At the same time, the professor includes the Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, 71, in this list of postulants. “Ratzinger left behind many followers among bishops, young priests and theologians, but at the church level he left no heir,” he estimates.
After almost eleven years of papacy, Francis shaped the College of Cardinals after his example. Currently, of the 134 eligible voters who are under 80 years old, 97 have been nominated by Argentines, 28 by Germans and 9 by João Paulo II (19202005). Over time, Francisco has overcome Ratzinger's hard core.
If the Conservatives do not have a widely recognized name as Benedict's spokesman and at the same time as an alternative to Francisco in the next conclave the same applies to the proJorge Bergoglio camp. With the pope's 87th birthday celebrated this year and the pontiff's failing health, discussions about his successor have become more important.
“The lack of obvious names is a general problem that also applies to Francis’ cardinals. There is no Bergoglian who would be the ideal successor,” says Faggioli. The result is that the next conclave, whenever it takes place, is likely to have an even more unpredictable outcome.
According to the expert, this is because the clergy have also given in to the seduction of the mass media. “Each character tries to conquer their space, be it with their book, their conference, their idea, their activity actually a market system. It is much more competitive and it is more difficult to achieve a dominant position,” assesses the professor.
However, on one point the conservative camp, particularly in the USA, has the upper hand. Rather than just waiting for Francis' pontificate to end and trying to influence the election of the next pope, these groups are investing in educating the new generation as part of a longterm strategy.
“In the United States, many bishops know that most seminarians, future priests, think like them and not like Francis. This camp knows that the future of the church, as conservatives see it, does not depend entirely on a pope,” he says.
“The pope may be a liberal, but when most priests are conservative and don't want to work with women, for example, having a pope of a certain type is a small victory.”