Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Dear Parishioners,

The Apostle Peter states, “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith” (1 Pet 5:8) 

Earlier this week, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released the declaration Fiducia Supplicans on the nature of blessings and the kinds of blessings that can and cannot be given to couples, including same-sex couples. Already the document’s meaning is being warped in the media and by Catholic influencers; for that reason, I would like to address what the declaration says so that the faithful of our parish may remain steadfast in the faith and resist confusion, that hallmark of the devil’s activity, that oftentimes is filtered down through erroneous media outlets. 

The declaration repeatedly states that the Church’s perennial teaching is and remains that the nature of marriage is the union of a man and a woman, which is dissoluble only by death, and open to the possibility of new life. This document in no way changes the Church’s teaching that sexual activity outside of a valid marriage is seriously sinful. Moreover, the document reiterates that for couples who live in morally irregular situations—such as same-sex couples or heterosexual Catholic couples who are not married in the Church—the Church’s ministers can in no way impart a blessing to their union that imitates a liturgical rite or which is in “concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them” nor can they impart a blessing with “clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.”

The declaration clarifies, however, that there are situations when these kinds of couples may receive “spontaneous” blessings from priests; these blessings are not given as an endorsement of a couple’s moral choices but because they are Christians who are seeking God’s graces, “not claim[ing] a legitimation of their own status, but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit.” The declaration further states that “in a briefprayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance—but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely.” 

Note how the declaration encourages the Church’s ministers to impart blessings that invoke God’s goodness in a way that the couple may follow the divine will, part of which is chaste living as the Church teaches. 

The declaration also observes how just as these couples are not excluded from the Church’s liturgical blessings when they are imparted to “the elderly, the sick, participants in a catechetical or prayer meeting, pilgrims, those embarking on a journey, volunteer groups and associations, and more”, just so the Church’s ordained ministers may impart blessings to these couples as individual Christian people, though not in any way to their union or relationship per se.

Sadly, there are clerics who are already using the declaration as cover to “bless” the relationship per se of these kinds of couples in a manner that is not spontaneous. These attempted blessings are contrary to what the declaration states, have no sacramental weight, and are invalidly bestowed by the cleric.

In conclusion, Fiducia Supplicans makes clear that although there are instances in which couples in morally irregular situations may receive spontaneous blessings from the Church’s ordained ministers, there is no alteration to the Church’s teaching on marriage and moral sexual expression. 

Let us remember well, brothers and sisters, that we all suffer from concupiscence and the effects of original sin, and just as all of us desire the Church’s blessing to assist us on our journey of faith, so too do homosexual people deserve the same spiritual assistance and grace from God. Remember the Lord’s constant instruction in the Gospels, “Be not afraid,” and let us always be vigilant against those who would sow seeds of division in the Church by equivocation of the Church’s teaching or who misrepresent the nuances in statements from the Holy Father Pope Francis and the Roman Curia.

Be assured of my daily prayers for you and your families, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely in Christ,

Father Ben Riley