2024-01-10 20:15:46
The French bishops published a statement on Wednesday to take a position, following Rome’s decision to open the blessing to homosexual couples. If they reject this possibility, they are however in favor of blessing homosexual people.
The bishops of France have finally taken a position in the controversy which is shaking the Catholic world over the blessing, by a priest, of homosexual couples. A press release dated January 10, from the permanent council of the episcopate, made up of ten bishops elected by the hundred of their peers, encourages the blessing of homosexual people who request it but not of couples.
Until then formally rejected by Rome, the possibility of blessing couples as such was opened on December 18 by the Vatican via a “Declaration”, entitled Fiducia Supplicans, from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, supported by Pope Francis. Which aroused praise in certain ecclesial circles but also a real outcry in others, in Africa in particular. To the point that the Vatican had to, on January 4, finally leave it to the bishops to choose whether or not to allow these blessings in their diocese.
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Formally opposed
The Catholic Churches of the African continent, several of which opposed this measure on December 18, should speak in a few days with one voice to confirm this position. Very early on, the United States bishops’ conference made it known that it would bless people, without mentioning the notion of couples contained in the Roman declaration, a discreet way of expressing its doubts. In Europe, the Hungarian and Polish episcopates formally opposed the Roman declaration while the German, Swiss and Belgian episcopates welcomed it.
In France, only Mgr Marc Aillet, bishop of Bayonne, Lescar and Oloron, had dared to say no to the blessing of homosexual couples, from December 29, while affirming his openness to welcoming homosexual people. He was immediately followed, on January 1, by the nine bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Brittany and Pays de Loire, presided over by Mgr Pierre d’Ornellas, archbishop of Rennes, who then signed a declaration also saying yes to the blessing of homosexuals but not to the blessing of couples.
Read alsoBlessing of homosexual couples: Pope Francis begins a step back
Gathered for its monthly meeting in Paris, the permanent council of the episcopate, chaired by Mgr Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, archbishop of Reims, has now issued a national position. Which will not go unnoticed, neither in the Vatican nor on the scale of the universal Church as the Church of France still matters. Especially when it comes to taking a position in major theological and pastoral debates concerning the entire Catholic Church.
Initially, the bishops of France justified their development by “ the certain impact in public opinion » of this “sensitive” subject. They mention “ support in the Church for homosexual people living as a couple » but also “ divorced people engaged in a life as a couple ».
An “unconditional and merciful welcome”
The word “couple” disappears in the rest of the press release to leave room only for “people” that they “ encourage generous blessing “, in the name of the Church, since they ” humbly ask God for help ” to discover “ God’s call ” on a ” path of faith ».
Cet « appel ” to a “ unconditional and merciful welcome ” just ” Jesus Christ », Write the bishops. They point out that the Fiducia Supplicans declaration recalls that “ those who do not live in a situation allowing them to engage in the sacrament of marriage are excluded neither from the Love of God nor from his Church. She encourages them in their desire to approach God to benefit from the comfort of his presence and to implore the grace to conform their lives to the Gospel ».
Cet « broad and unconditional welcome “, further explain the French bishops, can pass concretely ” through prayers of blessing, given in a spontaneous, ‘non-ritualized’ form, outside of any sign likely to be assimilated to the celebration of the marriage ».
Because Catholic marriage, this is the other key point of the French episcopal declaration, can only be understood as “ exclusive, stable and indissoluble union, between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children “. Definition also contained in the document Fiducia Supplicans, but which had gone unnoticed as the novelty of allowing blessings of homosexual couples – for the first time in full in this document designed at the highest level of the Church – had taken over. above. This possibility of blessing homosexual couples nevertheless remains. The Pope insists on it. He did not follow the caution of the synod of bishops, meeting in October in Rome, who had ruled out this idea. The blessing of homosexual couples will therefore be done according to the decision of each bishop, who is effectively not accountable to an episcopal conference according to canon law. However, it is extremely rare for episcopal conferences, as a whole, to dare publicly correct a decision of the Pope. A major ecclesial fact at the end of Francis’ pontificate, considered authoritarian.
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