Fiducia Supplicans: a Summation of Content and Doctrinal Ramifications

If you have been following world politics, either in the news or through Catholic agencies you will find (not to anyone's surprise) many developing organizations and attempts to revolutionize the Catholic approach to Same Sex unions.  This has been prevalent primarily in Germany and Europe, with the typical clamoring and laise faire take-it-for-granted do what you want already attitude we see rising steadily here in the US.  The movement, wherever it is found largely appeals to the Second Vatican Council for legitimacy and authority in its own right.  Anyone who spends the time to read to Conciliary documents will of course find this to be completely false, but there are a lamentable few who take the time.
The drama of the Catholic approach to homosexuality has played out in the US over the last few years, between several American Cardinals and the Vatican in the forms of letters of dubia and the Vatican's fleeting responses to them.  More recently in October, the Congregation of Catholic Doctrine at the Vatican came out and specifically undeniably ruled that the Catholic faith can NOT bless Same Sex unions, because “God does not bless sin”.  Pope Francis himself appeared to be surprised by this ruling, and quickly removed the official responsible for issuing the ruling.  
In the last few months, the Pope (by way of the Dicastery) has issued and put his seal on a document entitled Fiducia Supplicans, in which he specifically says that priests on an individual basis can bless individuals in same sex unions.  The world will take this to mean that the Church is on the path towards acceptance of homosexual behavior to be legitimate and a regular part of the Church.  Before this gets too far, I wanted to sum up a few things in case you don’t want to read the whole proclamation.

First of all, the document makes very clear that any sort of blessing offered onto people with irregular unions cannot be joined to ANY sort of ritual or formality of any kind so that it cannot be confused to be a contradiction of the union between a man and a woman, which the document reaffirms again to be the ONLY possibility of marriage.

 Secondly, the document embarks on a very long discussion of what is and is not a blessing.  It claims (or at least suggests) that it is introducing a new, legitimate development of doctrine (for clarity of which I encourage everyone to read Saint John Henry Newman about concerning the possibilities and technical truth of legitimate doctrinal development.  Be forewarned, it is highly dry and technical) in distinguishing between blessings as a liturgical and ritual thing which formally requests and bestows grace from God upon the receivers of the blessing and blessings as a more devotional and private thing, like what you would see if while on a pilgrimage you run across a priest and ask “bless this, father!” Whereupon the priest would spontaneously ask God’s favor upon the thing so that those involved may better find His will.  There is a very distinct albeit subtle difference between the two.
Basically, the document boils down to “we can’t change the rules so lets make a classification and distinction and see if it holds water”.  The document specifically states that the intent is to allow the individuals requesting God’s blessing to feel like they are blessed, and that such individual and spontaneous blessings are not a recognition of the union but a recognition that individuals need God’s grace, whether they are sinful or not.  

It is ironic to note that in the mantra of “legalism makes the Holy Spirit sad” (a phrase many may remember from the early days of his pontificate), Pope Francis is forced into further and further legalism himself to be spontaneous and person focused, as he claims to try to be.  I can appreciate his attempt at meeting people where they are.  I can.  But it is VERY important to be clear as to the left and right limits of what this new declaration does.  At best it is an attempt to impart God’s grace to sinners and make them feel good about themselves; at worst it is a grave confusion and scandalous to the faithful, causing “rad trads” to burrow deeper to a ritualism wherein true encounter with God is hard and liberal Catholics to embrace their idea of a new Church that will get with popular demands of the time.  The presentation and clarity surrounding what the document does and does not do could be promulgated way, way better than it has been.  Which is typical of the current Apostolic leadership, as illustrated by both the unanswered and the vaguely answered dubia from earlier last year.  

 As always, if you try to please everybody you leave everyone alone to their own devices and everyone will be angry.  I encourage reading the document and seeing first hand to equip yourselves for the coming storm that will be defending the faith from both inside and outside the Church.