As 'Fiducia Supplicans' marks 1 year, divisions over Vatican document persist

(OSV News) -- Two days after the Holy See's Dec. 18, 2023, release of "Fiducia Supplians," Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said in a statement that the declaration "does not constitute a 'step' toward ratification of same-sex marriage nor a compromising of the Church's teaching regarding those in irregular relationships."

"Fiducia Supplicans is very much congruent with Pope Francis's long-held conviction that those who do not live up to the full demand of the Church's moral teaching are nevertheless loved and cherished by God and invited to accept the Lord's offer of forgiveness," he said.

The statement came amid a flurry of statements from other U.S. bishops responding to the document, but his appeared to carry extra weight -- not just because of his prominence through his Word on Fire ministry, but also because it was released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, through Bishop Barron's role as chairman of its Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

Beyond a short initial statement from a USCCB spokesperson, it was the USCCB's only word on "Fiducia." But, for weeks, the 5,000-word document was the center of conversation within the church -- and much of it critical. On Bishop Barron's own Facebook page, one commentator replied: "Now we know where you stand. Indeed, we are ... living in a time of universal apostasy."

A year after "Fiducia Supplicans" whipped up a firestorm of controversy in the days before Christmas, the Vatican declaration remains a point of division in the U.S. church and worldwide. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether it has freshly prompted many Catholics in "irregular situations" to seek the kind of blessings it permits.

Subtitled "On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings," the document said the church could extend God's grace via blessings of couples in "irregular situations," especially same-sex partnership or heterosexual non-marital cohabitation. It also affirmed the church's perennial teaching on marriage, as well as the immorality of extramarital sexual relations, while acknowledging that couples in irregular situations could spiritually benefit from the graces blessings could mediate.

With an introductory statement from Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, "Fiducia Supplicans" provided parameters around the type of blessings for "a couple in an irregular situation," including same-sex couples, stating that they should not be placed in the context of a ritual, connected to ceremonies of a civil union, or "performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding."

The backlash was immediate. Many mainstream news headlines failed to convey key distinctions within the document and proclaimed it supported the blessings of same-sex unions, prompting some to question whether the church had altered its teaching on marriage.

As the document was more widely read, many clergy, theologians and church commentators around the world wrestled with the question of whether the church could recognize two people living outside the church's norms -- and perhaps in serious sin -- as a "couple" and bless them together, without somehow sanctioning -- or appearing to sanction -- their relationship. While "Fiducia" anticipated and tried to thread the needle on that question, many readers were left unsatisfied or confused, and some rejected the document outright.

Many Catholics appeared to struggle to understand a distinction between blessing couples and blessing unions, with some suggesting it was a distinction without a difference. Meanwhile, some prominent advocacy groups for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church celebrated "Fiducia" as a major, even revolutionary, development. Some same-sex attracted Catholic advocates suggested that it did not go far enough.

And, while the document described the blessing of a couple, Pope Francis later suggested the blessings indicated in "Fiducia" were intended for individuals within a couple.

The document's mid-December release added fuel to the fire. Some were simply irked that it was published in Advent, serving as a distraction from the season or becoming divisive fodder for conversation around families' holiday tables. Others questioned its release six weeks after the end of the first monthlong meeting of the Synod on Synodality, which included among its topics ministry to LGBTQ-identifying Catholics.

Bishops quickly issued public statements of their own. While some -- such as prominent bishops in German, Argentina and India -- welcomed the document outright, many aimed to clarify or offer further teaching. Others, including those in Ukraine, Brazil and Kazakhstan, openly refused to implement it in their dioceses. Bishops' conferences across Africa determined that same-sex blessings would not be carried out in the continent.

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, or SECAM, said such blessings "would cause confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities." He also publicly said "Fiducia" was "damaging for the synodal process," as its release six weeks after the end of the first of two sessions of the Synod on Synodality implied a connection to that process, which had among its discussion topics inclusion of Catholics who identified as LGBTQ+.

On Jan. 4, the DDF issued a press release to both clarify "Fiducia" and recommend "a full and calm reading ... so as to better understand its meaning and purpose." It also said that bishops should not deny their priests the possibility of discerning and imparting blessings, but that the blessings should last only "a few seconds" and should be given "without an approved ritual and without a book of blessings."

Signed by Cardinal Fernández, the press release also said that negative statements made by bishops' conferences "cannot be interpreted as doctrinal opposition," since "Fiducia" clearly states the church's teaching on marriage and sexuality. It said that some places in the world may need to provide more study and catechesis before implementing the declaration.
"There is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally from this Declaration or to consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the Church or blasphemous," the statement said.

Despite the clarification, the document's fallout continued for months. In February, Bishop Liam S. Cary of Baker, Oregon, said he had asked the priests of his diocese "not to bless known co-habiting couples, of the same sex or both sexes" because he did not believe those blessings could be carried out in a "scandal-free" manner in his diocese. Later that month, Russia's Orthodox Church accused Pope Francis of "rejecting the Christian moral ideal" by allowing the blessing of same-sex couples. In July, the Chaldean Catholic Church, one of the 23 self-governing Eastern Catholic churches in communion with the pope, issued a rejection of the declaration.

The document also soured formal relations with the Coptic Orthodox Church, which in March cut off theological dialogue, requiring Cardinal Fernández to meet with Pope Tawadros II in Cairo in May.

In February, Pope Francis weighed in on the mixed reception of "Fiducia" in an interview with "Credere," an Italian weekly. "I do not bless a 'homosexual marriage'; I bless two people who care for each other, and I also ask them to pray for me," he said.

In May, Pope Francis again aimed to clarify "Fiducia" in a wide-ranging interview with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell for "60 Minutes." When she asked him why he "decided to allow Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples," he responded, "No. What I allowed was not to bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament. I cannot. The Lord made it that way. But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for everyone. For everyone. To bless a homosexual-type union, however, goes against the given right, against the law of the church. But to bless each person, why not? The blessing is for all. Some people were scandalized by this. But why? Everyone! Everyone!"

Many people interpreted Pope Francis' response as appearing to walk back the language around couples in "Fiducia," with a redirection from blessing couples to blessing individuals. If that was the case, some commentators asked, why was a document necessary at all, as priests typically extend blessings to any individual who asks?

Meanwhile, images and videos circulated on social media of priests blessing same-sex couples in ways that defied the parameters outlined by "Fiducia," heightening accusations that the document did little more than sow confusion. In contrast, leaders in ministries to Catholics who identify as LGBTQ+ say the document has helped them feel better acknowledged by the church.

In attempting to settle questions in the Catholic Church, "Fiducia" appears to have raised many new ones. Catholic leaders, including those involved in ministry to same-sex-attracted Catholics, also say they have not seen an uptick in Catholics seeking blessings because of the document.

However, "Fiducia" may have prompted greater reflection among church leaders on what ministry to same-sex attracted Catholics, including those in partnerships, should look like, whether or not they agree with the approach "Fiducia" suggests.

In October, Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta formed an advisory group called the LGBTQ+ Pastoral Affairs Commission "dedicated to better understanding the realities and pastoral needs of LGBTQ+ Catholics in the Archdiocese of Atlanta," according to The Georgia Bulletin, the archdiocese's newspaper. Archbishop Hartmayer formed the group in response to the "perception that the church has not journeyed well with people who identify as LGBTQ+, women and people with disabilities," which surfaced during the archdiocese's synod-related listening sessions.

In July 2023, prior to "Fiducia," Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore released "Like Every Disciple," guidelines for pastoral accompaniment of LGBT Catholics. It emphasized that "Like every human person, they were created with a desire for intimacy with Jesus Christ."

The archdiocese's 2024 social ministry convocation included a workshop on putting "Fiducia" into practice.