In Supplicating Trust, Trustworthy?

01-07-2024Pastor's LetterFr. John Bonavitacola

Dear Friends,

Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust) is the recent Vatican document which deals with the topic: On the Meaning of Blessings. The letter has generated an ocean full of ink. Despite being a minor document that contains nothing we did not already know but with some “nuances” on the practice of priestly blessings, it still generated an amazing array of news articles and opinion pieces. Here are a few:

CNN: The Vatican’s Sleight of Hand on Blessings for Same-Sex Couples Newsweek: Evangelical Leaders accuse Pope of creating divisions with LGBTQ+ Views
Wall Street Journal: Conservative Bishops Push back against Fr
ancis on Same-Sex Blessings
USA Today: Is the Catholic Church changing its stance on LGBTQ couples?
Slate: The story behind Pope Francis shocking reversal on same-sex relationships
LGBTQ Nation: Gay Man calls out Pope Francis for “deigning” to Bless Same-Sex Couples: Not a Blessing, an Insult

It seems everybody and their brother weighed in on this document. If you have not read the 5000- word document I’ll give you the “Cliff Notes” version: when a person or persons ask a priest for a blessing, he is to impart the blessing, as priests have been blessing people for the past two thousand years. Shocking, I know.

The Document is referring to spontaneous, personal blessings not ritual or liturgical blessings that take place in a formal setting. So, when a person or persons approach a priest and ask for a blessing, the priest imparts his blessing. And if that person or persons happen to be in an irregular marriage (one not in the Church) or in a same-sex relationship, the priest still imparts his blessing.

Again, this is a spontaneous situation and not a formal one such as would happen during a Mass or other liturgical service. Nor is it a statement on the holiness or sinfulness of the person being blest. I was a Prison Chaplain for years, imagine who asked me for a blessing! People ask priests for blessings all the time. Most of the time we don’t know much about the person, what their state in life is or what the condition of their soul is and even when we have some familiarity with the person or persons, we realize that asking for a blessing is an act of faith and shows a desire to grow closer to God or for a particular grace needed to be a better follower of Jesus or overcome a vice or fault or for a desired healing. Bishop Olmsted often told us priests to always assume the best. When a person approaches you, even in anger, assume they are sincere and have the best of intentions and respond accordingly.

The document makes clear that the Vatican issued this document in response to questions it received about blessing a couple not married in the Church and persons in a same-sex relationship. The document unequivocally states that the Church’s teaching on marriage (exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to conceiving children) has not changed and that blessings of either same-sex or couples not married in the Church should not give the impression in any way that the blessing is the equivalent of marriage or a sacrament. It is simply a recognition that the person or persons are seeking God’s grace.

Fiducia Supplicans, explains the pastoral practice of the Church in response to certain questions posed to the Vatican. I’m not sure we needed a 5,000-word letter to do so but that’s what we got. The document shows the tension between the Church’s doctrine (marriage is exclusively between one-man and one-woman) and the pastoral initiatives of the Church (wishing to make Christ’s grace accessible to all even those in irregular marriages and same-sex relationships).

Pope Francis is sending the message that the Church does not hate gays or anybody else who does not conform to the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality. The Pope is acknowledging the challenge in upholding the Church’s doctrine and still trying to extend charity to all. The 21st century reality of the massive numbers of failed marriages that often lead to divorce and remarriage outside the Church as well as civil law recognition of same-sex relationships, creates pastoral challenges on a scale we have not seen before. Fiducia Supplicans is not trying to square the circle but rather seeks to be as generous as possible with the grace entrusted to the Church and its priests. When God’s grace is made available to people who seek it, who knows how it will affect them, change them, or help them to conform their will to God’s will?

As Christians, we must measure our actions against the one command of Christ to “love one another even as I have loved you”. Fiducia Supplicans is trying to show us how to do that in certain concrete situations that are part of our journey in this world at this moment in history, while remaining true to the teachings of our Faith.

“Love one another as I have loved you”. Simple but not easy. And a bit messy at times.

Love, Fr. John