By Father Raymond J. de Souza and Father Gerald E. Murray

But first a note from Robert Royal: Fiducia Supplicans, the recent document published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, argues that - owing to a "development" in the idea of blessings in the magisterium of Pope Francis - "irregular couples," i.e., cohabiting, divorced, and remarried, even "same-sex" pairs may, at a priests discretion, now be blessed by the Church. That document, issued right before Christmas, has produced a global backlash, with whole dioceses and bishops conferences refusing to follow such a "development."

It has also raised questions about how it was decided to publish such a controversial text, as well as how, despite various arguments, it can be reconciled with longstanding Church teaching. This controversy will bulk large in 2024, and we thought it worthwhile, as 2023 comes to an end, to publish these commentaries by two prominent priests so that TCT readers will be aware of many thorny issues now facing the Church in the new year. Don't miss the further discussion of these and other questions with Father Gerald Murray, Diane Montagna, Edward Pentin, and myself in this new TCT podcast.

Now for the columns...

Twenty Questions for Cardinal Fernández (and Pope Francis?)

by Father Raymond J. de Souza

Earlier this year, Cardinal Daniel Sturla, Archbishop of Montevideo, and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, then the Archbishop of La Plata, had Sees across the river from each other. Now they find themselves in opposing currents, as the former is distressed that the latter would plunge the Church into such conflict and confusion just before Christmas. "I don't think it was a topic to come up now at Christmas," Sturla said of Fiducia Supplicans (FS), the DDF declaration on blessing "irregular" and "same-sex" couples. "That decision caught my attention powerfully, because it is a controversial issue, and it is dividing waters within the Church."

Not only the Tiber, but even La Plata.

Fernández and Sturla were both made archbishops by Pope Francis in his first year, and both for archdioceses adjacent to Buenos Aires. If now Fernandez has lost the support of a Cardinal created by Pope Francis on the other side of the river, it gives a measure of how poorly FS has been received. So Fernández has been scrambling to contain the fiasco of plunging the entire Church into conflict and confusion on a contested issue just days before Christmas, a time when religious voices are given a greater hearing in the secular press.

Cardinal Fernández had intended that his instructions on how to bless "irregular couples" - cohabiting couples, polygamous "couples," adulterous couples, same-sex couples, the lot - would be the last word. "Thus, beyond the guidance provided above, no further responses should be expected about possible ways to regulate details or practicalities regarding blessings of this type," wrote Fernandez on Monday. By week's end, he had granted a Spanish-language interview to The Pillar. Things were not proceeding as planned. One of his predecessors in the doctrinal office declared FS to be "self-contradictory."

At the Vatican, in the week before Christmas - same-sex blessings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hopes that Father James Martin soon would be there. With the dust now settling and prelates the world over registering their dismay, herewith a series of questions that Cardinal Fernández may choose to answer as he begins a new set of interviews to defend his declaration.

ONE: At his first Angelus address after his election, Pope Francis spoke of the superior theological wisdom of the abuela, a theme he has returned to many times. Does your declaration's distinction between "ascending" and "descending" blessings resonate with the abuela's experience? Will her soul fill with the joy of the Gospel when she hears that her son-in-law, who has abandoned her daughter and grandchildren, was blessed with his new mistress by the parish p...