Fiducia Supplicans In 58 Words & The Follow Up

Artist DonkeyHotey

FS in 58 Words

1. Bless that which cannot be blessed.
2. 'Couple' does not mean 'couple' unless you want it to.
3. If you do not accept FS, that's ok. Just know that you're probably a bigot or a hypocrite or a member of a backward society that is not ready for the Pope’s teaching.
4. FS changes nothing, except that it changes everything.

/58

For the Record

We Catholics take papal teaching seriously, which may mean we that rely on minds docile to the Holy Spirit and that are greater than our own to help us:

1. acknowledge teaching which is magisterial and therefore binding on consciences;
2. identify teaching which is serious or important but not binding;
3. reject teaching that is inconsistent with the Apostolic Faith.

It is highly unfortunate that the Holy Father has relied on a theologian who, by the accounts of serious academics, is of questionable theological skill to oversee the DDF and its publications. That many faithful erudite Catholics have weighed in against FS, including entire national conferences and fraternities of concerned bishops and priests, by now should have awakened the Holy Father to the serious problems that FS represents. That Pope Francis has doubled-down on his defence of the FS teaching is worrying, frustrating and annoying.

Worrying. Frustrating. Annoying.

It's tough enough being Catholic. We do not need confusion and chaos coming from Rome to complicate our witness to Jesus Christ in the world.

Pope Francis has said:

“No one is scandalized if I give a blessing to an entrepreneur who perhaps exploits people: and this is a very serious sin,” the Holy Father said. “Whereas they are scandalized if I give it to a homosexual … This is hypocrisy! We must all respect each other. Everyone.”

How does the Holy Father know who is and who is not scandalized? How are we to know if they themselves do not disclose the state of their soul or their behaviour is not obvious?

A response to the Holy Father's attempt to force the issue.

1. When a person's sins are public, i.e., knowable, e.g., as in the case of a pro-abortion politician or a same-sex couple holding hands, then withholding a blessing demonstrates prudential judgement. A child asks for a favour but behaves in a way that merits correction. To concede to the child's demands enables in him a sense of entitlement. The refusal of a gift offers the child an opportunity to adjust his understanding in a way that opens him to discover a better way. For their obstinate refusal to abide by the will of God, God decreed that the Israelites would wander in the desert for forty years. Are priests hypocrites for refusing to offer absolution when there is no sense of contrition on the part of the penitent?
2. When a person's sins are not known, then there is no reason to withhold a blessing, since there are no established grounds for objection. The burden of disclosure rests with the one requesting a blessing.

Is a priest required to pole every person petitioning for a blessing to determine the condition of their soul before granting a blessing? No. Unfortunately, by imposing an assumption that amounts to a strawman, Pope Francis has only clouded further the nature of blessings, and confirmed the potential for damage when Fiducia Supplicans is applied.

Has the Holy Father forgotten the Lord's counsel?

Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you. St Matthew 7:6

Jesuit Casuistry

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8

Pope Francis' admonition is hollow. He would have us ignore the disposition of someone who by their behaviour demonstrates a rejection of the Lord's teaching in a way that defines obstinacy, i.e., a refusal to abandon sin. God Himself does not force anyone to change. Pope Francis' admonition implies we are meant to judge the state of someone's soul and issue a blessing regardless of their willingness or unwillingness to cooperate with God.

Respect people - yes; respect all behaviours - certainly not.

Blessings can be issued to assist the willing recipient to cooperate with God to become more Christ-like. Blessings cannot be issued in a vain attempt to lend support to defiant people who seek the comfort of an approval of their sinful behaviour.

God will not be mocked.