by Rachael Tvrdy,
Director of the Office of Family Life and Discipleship
The Vatican issued a press release Jan. 4, clarifying widespread objections surrounding Fiducia supplicans, the Declaration written by Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), allowing blessings for same-sex couples. As a graduate of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies, I feel compelled to offer my personal opinion to the milieu.
The five-page press release offers many clarifications reaffirming the most recent Vatican statement disapproving same-sex unions because “[God] does not and cannot bless sin.” Seeing that the recent rebuttal was so lengthy, it affirms that, in all honesty, clarification was needed.
I want to focus on the response of the lay faithful, which involved a chorus of voices asking varied questions: “Is this document necessary?” “Because it comes from the Vatican, does this mean it is infallible?” Many Catholics understand that we must follow the Magisterium, the teaching office of the Church, but they do not know that there are different levels that require different adherences. There is ordinary and extraordinary magisterium.
Extraordinary Magisterium is rare. Such an example is when the Supreme Pontiff speaks “ex-cathedra” (from the chair) from a position of papal infallibility, meaning the teaching contains zero error. Ordinary Magisterium is different; it is regular teaching from the pope and bishops, non-infallible, and asks for reverent submission of the intellect and will. This is where the lay faithful come into play: The lay faithful (sensus fidelium) are active participants in safeguarding the truth and offering responsible adherence to the Magisterium. As living members of the composite of faith, we are a part of the general Magisterium. So we may sincerely ask for clarifications to non-definitive teachings, on behalf of the universal church, if amendment is needed. It is our right and duty to seek truth, as the whole point of infallibility is to make us holy.
Seeing that Fiducia supplicans falls under Ordinary Magisterium, and as it requires submission of our intellect and will, I highly recommend you read the document to form yourself on this subject properly. Many Catholics react to the media without actually carefully reading ecclesial documents. Common blessings are always available for all God’s children, regardless of what you’ve done or what you believe. The Church has never denied mercy to sinners, as we are all sinners for whom Jesus died. And as Jesus told St. Faustina, “The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to my Mercy.” Which is what remains at question – are we blessing the sinner or the sin?
The recent press release highlighted the difference between a pastoral versus a liturgical blessing. A pastoral blessing is spontaneous and non-ritualized, meaning it does not happen within the context of a public, liturgical rite, which is what Fiducia supplicans is newly introducing. For those with boots on the ground, this nuance of “pastoral meaning of blessings” will most certainly be a struggle for our clergy. They will be the ones who will be asked to exercise prudential judgment in various complex situations that arise as blessings are requested. Situations that can and will be misinterpreted by regular folks who don’t understand all the polemics, norms, and nuances of Church-speak, i.e., liturgical vs. non-liturgical. Cardinal Fernandez, the Declaration’s author, concedes in his recent press release that “some catechesis will be necessary that can help everyone to understand that these types of blessings are not an endorsement of the life led by those who request them. Even less are they an absolution, as these gestures are far from being a sacrament or a rite.” Indeed, catechesis will be necessary as such a blessing does not replace a need for true repentance and confession.
The Father never ignores His astray children, which is very much a principal intention to the blessings – i.e., pastoral closeness. But again, the divisive question– by blessing the couple, are we validating their reality as a couple? Why not say persons, and not couple? (The one question not addressed in the press release). Without conditioning the need for repentance, is the goal of the blessing to live in accordance with Christ and His Church and to convert? These are the questions that must be examined. The recent press release seems to move us toward this actuality: “At the same time, one asks that they may live the Gospel of Christ in full fidelity and so that the Holy Spirit can free these two people from everything that does not correspond to his divine will and from everything that requires purification.”
I foresee there will be more dialogue coming down the pipeline. In any case, the sensus fidelium, the lay faithful’s active voice rising up to seek the truth, is alive and well.
