The Vatican has clarified that the blessings, recently allowed, to homosexual couples, to divorced people who have remarried, or to couples who live together without being married, called “couples in an irregular situation” in the eyes of the Church, do not represent the “ approval” to these forms of life and will not be “liturgical or ritualized.” That is, the priest who teaches them should not use formal words or ceremonies. In addition, they will have to be brief and last “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 supplians with which on December 18, blessings were allowed for homosexual couples or in an “irregular” situation. The clarification, which reaffirms that the Church's doctrine on marriage does not change one bit, has been seen as an attempt to calm the waters in the face of protests by bishops from different countries, who urged priests not to bless couples of the same sex or in an irregular situation. Some representatives of the most conservative wing, such as the 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 reflect on in this regard. “The understandable statements of some Episcopal Conferences on the document Fiducia supplians They have the value of evidencing the need for a longer time of pastoral reflection. What these Episcopal Conferences have expressed cannot be interpreted as a doctrinal opposition, because the document is clear and classic on marriage and sexuality,” reads the note, signed by Fernández. “We will have to get used to accepting that if a priest gives this type of simple blessings he is not a heretic, he is not ratifying anything nor is he denying Catholic doctrine,” he adds. And he proposes that in some places a catechesis be carried out “to help understand that these types of blessings are not a ratification of the life led by those who request them.”
Furthermore, he clarifies: “They are not an absolution either, because these gestures are far from being a sacrament or a rite. They are simple expressions of pastoral closeness that do not have the same demands of a sacrament or a formal rite.” And he reaffirms that this short, simple, non-ritualized form of blessing “is not intended to justify something that is not morally acceptable.” “Evidently it is not a marriage, but it is not even an 'approval' or a ratification of anything. It's just a pastor's response to two people asking for God's help. That is why in that case the pastor does not ask for conditions nor does he want to know the intimate life of these subjects,” clarifies the Argentine prefect, created cardinal by Francisco last year, shortly before beginning his work at the head of the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important organizations of the Holy See.
Fernández alleges that “the true novelty of the document” lies in “the invitation to distinguish” between “liturgical or ritualized” blessings and “spontaneous or pastoral” blessings, which are those that can be imparted to this type of relationships. These “pastoral blessings, to be distinguished from liturgical or ritualized blessings, must above all be very brief,” the prefect states in the statement. And he provides an example: a priest who formulates the prayer “Lord, look at these two children of yours, grant them health, work, peace, mutual help. Free them from everything that contradicts your Gospel and grant them to live according to your will. Amen”.
“It's 10 or 15 seconds. Does it make sense to deny this type of blessing to two people who beg for it? “Isn't it worth sustaining their faith, little or much, helping their weakness with divine blessing, giving a channel to that openness to transcendence that could lead them to be more faithful to the Gospel?” questions the Argentine prefect.
The Declaration approving the blessings for “irregular” couples, which was signed by Pope Francis, already indicated that the priest will not be able to impart them at the same time as the civil rites of union, nor will he be able to allow in the church elements that lead to confusion, such as wedding dresses. Furthermore, it cannot be taught in a prominent place in the temple or in front of the altar. Because the Church, although it allows these “spontaneous” or informal blessings to homosexual couples, does not homologate them to canonical marriage.
On the other hand, the congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has also specified the procedure to follow in countries where declaring homosexuality is legally penalized with prison and even torture or death. In these cases, “it is understood that the blessing would be imprudent” and “it is evident that the bishops do not want to expose homosexual people to violence.”
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