The declaration Fiducia Supplicans (FS), on the pastoral meaning of blessings, published last December by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith caused a great deal of controversy in the Catholic Church.
By opening up the possibility of blessing couples who live in irregular situations, such as cohabiting couples, divorced or remarried and same-sex couples, the document has provoked various and opposite reactions.
Some hailed it as a real development by allowing the blessing of couples in irregular situations without endorsing their union or changing the Church’s teaching on marriage. Others have criticized it for being heretic and confusing. In this camp, the strongest response came from the Bishops of Africa who refused to apply its orientations for fear of causing scandal and confusion.
On one hand, the declaration reiterates that there is no change of Church teaching on marriage while reaching out to all those who, while not living in full communion with the Church, desire God’s blessing. On the other hand, the document might in certain situations and contexts give rise to scandal or confusion because the distinction between gestures of welcome and approval of an irregular situation may not be easy.
On this last point, Pope Francis has clarified that the purpose of these pastoral blessings is to “show the closeness of the Lord and the Church to all those who finding themselves in different situations, ask for help to continue a journey of faith.” He added that “moral perfection” is not a requirement to receive a blessing and that when a couple asks for a blessing, the priest is not blessing the union, “but simply, the people who together have requested it.”
To understand well FS, one must frame it within Pope Francis’ reforming project of the Church. In a concrete way, he continues to apply the proposals of his programmatic letter Evangelii Gaudium: “The Church is not a customs house; it is the Father’s house, where there is room for everyone with their difficult lives” (n. 47).
Regarding the implementation of the declaration, certain cultural contexts will require time and pastoral strategies. In sensitive situations, Church leaders will have to be prudent and discerning.
No doubt, the Holy Father is not changing the doctrine of the Church but rather the way in which the doctrine is implemented. FS marks a shift of pastoral outlook by responding to the spiritual needs of many couples who do not live in a sacred marriage.
