From openness towards homosexuals and trans people as godparents and witnesses to communion for single mothers, Pope Francis He made many believers swallow bitter wafers. The latest turning point signed by Bergoglio concerns the green light for the blessing of unmarried and gay couples in the church. Given two people's request for a blessing, even if their status as a couple was “irregular,” it will be possible for the ordained minister to consent. Of course, this is not a marriage issue, the Vatican made clear. But it is impossible not to emphasize that the Argentine pope is once again in danger of revolutionizing Catholic moral theology.
The clarification that came with the statement of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith with the declaration “Fiducia supplicans” on the pastoral meaning of the blessing did not go unnoticed. On the other hand. For many believers, it is simply another act of Bergoglio following the current fashion and giving that Slumber into the LGBT galaxy – increasingly influential in the West – while various episcopates have not hidden their absolute opposition. For Bergoglio, the goal of these blessings is to “open life to God, to ask his help for a better life and to invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the Gospel can be lived more faithfully,” but there was a reason why all of his predecessors had closed the door to any rainbow claims.
The teaching of the Church has always been the same: the family is the indissoluble union of man and woman, founded on marriage and open to life. Sudden changes of direction only risk angering the souls of believers, without forgetting the possible future repercussions: will the next step be the vindication of the rented womb? Speeches from believers that were quickly spread online, but not only. As expected, many episcopates have taken a stand and bluntly stigmatized the pope's availability. Official reactions and announcements who make a furrow within the church: from the guilt of Hungarian, Polish and Ukrainian churches to the very harsh accusation of Monsignor Martin Anwel, Bishop of Karonga in Malawi. “I am deeply sorry and shocked by this statement. “I know many of you are shocked by this controversial document published right around Christmas, a time of celebration and joy,” one of the passages that went viral.
“Faithful to the constant teaching of ecclesiastical tradition that homosexual acts are inherently disordered and contrary to natural law (Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2357), we, the Bishops of Cameroon, reiterate our disapproval of homosexuality and same-sex relationships. “Therefore, we officially prohibit all blessings of “homosexual couples” in the Church of Cameroon,” said the statement from the National Bishops’ Conference of Cameroon. The Catholic Bishops' Conference is on the same wavelength Nigeria: “There is therefore no way in the Church to bless unions and activities between people of the same sex. This would violate the law of God, the teachings of the Church, the laws of our nation and the cultural sensibilities of our people.”
Also read:
There Tensions in the Vatican it is noticeable, there is no other way to say it. The brief face-to-face meeting between Pope Francis and the cardinal is significant in this scenario Raymond Leo Burke. A meeting that comes after rumors that the Argentine Pope had deprived the cardinal of the traditionalist wing of the salary of the apartment a stone's throw from the colonnade of St. Peter's Basilica. Burke represents the point of reference for critics of Bergoglio's pontificate, as he has expressed his “dubia” on various provisions of Francis. The green light for the blessing of gay couples only increases the distance between the papal line and the conservative faction and risks jeopardizing the relationship with the faith of many Catholics.
Massimo Balsamo, December 30, 2023
Did you like this article? also read
Follow us on our channels