Declaration Fiducia supplicans,[2] published on 18 December 2023 right before Christmas, in which the possibility of blessing same-sex couples and couples in irregular relationships is opened, is another example of sophism. Of course, many recognized it immediately, and it is no wonder that it caused a real storm among the faithful and discord among the bishops. Just a few days after the Declaration had been published, the bishops of the Archdiocese of St. Mary in Astana (Kazakhstan), the bishops' conference of Benin, Ghana, Cameroon, Madagascar, Hungary, Malawi, Nigeria, Poland, Rwanda, Togo, Ukraine and Zambia, rejected this declaration completely.[3] The British Brotherhood of Catholic Clergy, which has over 500 members, signed a statement saying, among other things: "We believe that genuine charity always follows true doctrine and that such blessings would work against the legitimate care a priest owes to his flock... such blessings are pastorally and practically inadmissible."[4]
In paragraph 31 it is explicitly stated: "Within the horizon outlined here appears the possibility of blessing for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex." Therefore, a COUPLE of the same sex is blessed, not a person of the same sex.
After the publication of the Declaration, many claimed that it did not allow the blessing of same-sex couples but of same-sex persons. Therefore, first we need to see what exactly is written in the Declaration. In paragraph 31 it is explicitly stated: "Within the horizon outlined here appears the possibility of blessing for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex." Therefore, a COUPLE of the same sex is blessed, not a person of the same sex. It's clear to everyone, even to a grandma who doesn't even have four grades of elementary school, what the word “couple” in this context means. Everyone knows that "couple" is a term for a pseudo-marriage, i.e. a union in which an unmarried man and woman, or in the case of people of the same sex, two men, have sexual relations. Therefore, the same-sex pseudo-marriage is blessed, not the same-sex person.
In the same paragraph (31) it is said that the blessing is granted not to those who want to legitimize their 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." Their status is not legitimized in the legal sense, because they will not receive any certificate of "marriage", however, the blessing of such a couple normalizes sodomy, that is clear to everyone.[5] It is said that they "beg that all that is true, good and humanly valid... in their relationships be enriched, healed and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit." This is pure blasphemy! Because the Holy Spirit is invoked to enrich and elevate what is "good" in their sinful relationship, i.e. in the "outcrying sin" of sodomy (CCC 1867, Gen 18:20; 19:13). Can Cardinal Fernández explain to us what is good about sodomy?!
Well, maybe it means the good things that the couple has as individuals. It is clear that every person as an individual has something good in him and that is not in dispute, but the same-sex couple is not asking for a blessing here as individuals but as a couple. The fact that one of them is good at baking pancakes does not diminish the sinfulness of their relationship as a couple. It would be like if a gang came to ask for a blessing for a successful bank robbery with the excuse that each of them has some virtues, Mark is a good fisherman, Tom takes care of his sick father, and Peter helps his neighbour pick olives. Regardless of all the good that a person has in him, the Church cannot bless a sin or a sinful intention because "blessing is a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father; his blessing is both a word and a gift. When applied to man, the word “blessing” means adoration and surrender to his Creator in thanksgiving" (CCC 1078). And when the priest blesses someone, regardless of whether it is part of the liturgy or not, whether it is formal or spontaneous, he does so in the name of God.
It is a diabolical document, because it is inspired by diabolical logic. One does not need to be a theologian to know that pastoral practice cannot be in conflict with dogma, and this is all about the introduction of a sacrilegious practice.
Further, in the same paragraph it is written: "the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations". What does it mean for couples in "irregular situations"? We know there are irregular flights, irregular classes, irregular heart rates, irregular ovulation cycles, etc. But couples in irregular situations? Aren't these couples in "sinful situations", i.e. couples living in fornication, or has it suddenly become forbidden to mention sin in the Church?!
In paragraph 32 it says, "Indeed, the grace of God works in the lives of those who do not claim to be righteous but who acknowledge themselves humbly as sinners, like everyone else." In itself this sentence is correct but in context it is shameless. If someone who suffers from same-sex attraction comes to the priest for guidance in the desire to overcome his difficulties, to humbly admit his sinfulness,[6] he has ALWAYS been welcome in the Church (CCC 2358, 2359). On such a repentant person, eager for conversion, the priest can surely invoke God's blessing rightfully. But here we are dealing with the same-sex couple, who voluntarily decided, against God's will and in spite of God's will, to live in the grave sin of sodomy (CCC 2357, 2396), a couple who do NOT acknowledge themselves as sinners, but on the contrary, who in their arrogance consider that they know better than Christ and his Church. There is no humility there! Coming to the Church, they mock the Mystical Body of Christ. They say, the Church is wrong, the Church should be changed, sodomy should be legalized, it should be celebrated because sodomy is the new virtue. Not only do they say that, but they also undermine the Church on all fronts, trying to change the Church's teaching on sodomy. And now Bergoglio and Tucho (Fernández) say THEY should be blessed! In the same paragraph it is written: "The Church welcomes all who approach God with humble hearts". People who advocate sodomy,[7] promoters of sexual perversion, approach God with humble hearts?!
Humility of the heart is also mentioned in paragraph 33. However, it is clear to everyone that those who have consciously decided to live permanently against God's command do not come to the Church with contrite hearts, but hardened hearts with the intention of mocking Christ and his Church. By glorifying the "outcrying sin" of sodomy, they do not serve Christ but Satan.
All those who accept this ridiculous document should be aware that on the basis of exactly the same "arguments" tomorrow other couples will be able to come to the Church and ask for a blessing: a prostitute with her customer, or a paedophile with a boy, or a man with a goat...
In order to reduce the shock of people who have not yet been brainwashed, there is talk of a "spontaneous blessing", as if a priest will accidentally run into a couple of the same sex, and they will accidentally come dressed nicely, their friends will accidentally sing a little, and then they will accidentally go for a snack, accidentally dance a little, accidentally cut a cake on which two chocolate men are standing in each other's arms, all by accident, and then it's ok.
There is too much sophism in this declaration to be able to analyse it all in such a small space, but this already mentioned here speaks quite enough about what kind of document we are talking about here, and it is a diabolical document, because it is inspired by diabolical logic. One does not need to be a theologian to know that pastoral practice cannot be in conflict with dogma, and this is all about the introduction of a sacrilegious practice.[8] It is a compromise with the devil.
We can safely say that this is the beginning of the official persecution of Orthodox priests, because not even 24 hours had passed since the Declaration was published, when the president of the Bishops' Conference of Austria, Archbishop Franz Lackner, announced that priests "will no longer be able to say no" to the blessing of same-sex couples.[9]
Unfortunately, the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Zagreb (Croatia) Dražen Kutleša did not recognize the trap of the Evil One neither. Being a guest in Night News on National TV on 19 December 2023 he said about the new declaration: "The blessing is distributed to persons. If someone is in a certain state, especially a sinful one - then the Church wants to have care and attention for that person in a special way. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith emphasizes that it cannot be understood as a ritualization, i.e. a rite to be acceptable to the Church. So - the person is blessed, not the state of the people living in that situation."[10]
In short, this declaration pretends that what is being blessed is not being blessed, and we all know what is being blessed and we all know that it is contrary to the Catholic faith.
First of all, we have already seen that a couple is blessed, not a person. Second, says the archbishop, "if someone is in a certain state, especially a sinful one - then the Church wants to take care and pay attention to that person in a special way". Does this mean that in the past the Church was wrong when it did not pay "special care and attention" to Hitler, Tito, Mao Zedong and the like because they were in an "especially sinful" state? We have had enough of these ambiguous and meaningless speeches! Of course, the Church should help sinners, because we are all sinners, but only as long as there is an effort by the sinner to return to the right path. However, the Church should not help Christ's enemies, because that would be helping Satan, that should be clear even to an archbishop. And those who persistently promote the sin of sodomy with their words and actions are enemies of Christ (cf. Mt 12:30; Rom 1:26-33).
So, to summarize. A person who is Catholic and suffers from same-sex attraction will come to the priest and seek pastoral guidance and care from the priest, such a person will not "marry" another person of the same sex! Such a person can receive a blessing. A person who knowingly and without coercion civilly "married" another person of the same sex, or simply decided to live with another person of the same sex, is not a Catholic because he does not accept the teaching of the Church (can. 749, 751, 1364), and has nothing to look for in the Church! Very simple. This has been confirmed by one of the leading canonists in the USA, Bishop Thomas Paprocki (Illinois, Springfield), doctor of canon law, president of the Commission on Canonical Affairs of the American Bishops' Conference, who, citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2357) and the Code of Canon Law, warns that the truth, that homosexual acts constitute a sin, must be believed with divine and Catholic faith, because if someone "denies settled Catholic teaching, embraces heresy, the result of which is automatic excommunication from the Catholic Church".[11]
All those who accept this ridiculous document should be aware that on the basis of exactly the same "arguments" tomorrow other couples will be able to come to the Church and ask for a blessing: a prostitute with her customer, or a paedophile with a boy, or a man with a goat, or... Hey, don't we have to “go out to everyone without exception" (Amoris laetitia , 309)?
In short, this declaration pretends that what is being blessed is not being blessed, and we all know what is being blessed and we all know that it is contrary to the Catholic faith. How diabolical that right at the time of Advent, Bergoglio presents us with this perverse declaration. While St. John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ, losing his life rebuking the couple, Herod and Herodias, because they lived in fornication, today, after two millennia, Jorge Bergoglio is preparing the way for the Antichrist, blessing what St. John the Baptist cursed.
But hey, maybe St. John the Baptist did not know that Herod was a good fisherman and that Herodias could bake good pancakes.
The author, Ivan Poljakovic, is the president of the Apologetic Assocciation of Blessed Ivan Merz in Croatia.
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[1] A sophism (Greek σóφισμα: a clever or cunning fabrication) is a false conclusion made to appear correct; cunning contrivance to defend some untenable claim. Some sophists have developed sophistic tricks so that in the debate the opponent becomes entangled in contradictions and finally leads to absurd answers.
[2] Dichiarazione "Fiducia supplicans" sul senso pastorale delle benedizione del Dicastero per la Dottrina della Fede (vatican.va) (2023-12-18)
[3] Widerspruch gegen Fiducia supplicans: eine Aufstellung – Katholisches ; sodomism – Faith and works ; Hungarian Catholic Church | Communication (katolikus.hu) (2023-12-26)
[4] Confraternity of Catholic Clergy – British Province of Pope St Gregory the Great (confraternityccb.org.uk) (2023-12-22)
[5] One only has to glance at the headlines of the secular press around the world, everyone agrees that this is a big turn of the Catholic Church because it allows the blessing of same-sex unions. Everything else is just nuance.
[6] The same-sex attraction itself is not a sin, but the same-sex act is a sin.
[7] A distinction should always be made between persons suffering from same-sex attraction and persons advocating sodomy.
[8] Müller: Blessings for gay couples are blasphemous – Daily Compass (newdailycompass.com) (2023-12-26)
[9] Lackner: Segenswunsch eines gleichgeschlechtlichen Paares nachkommen (katholisch.at) (2023-12-24)
[10] Kutleša for HRT: We demand that religious schools be equal to public ones - HRT (2023-12-20)
[11] "Imagining a Heretical Cardinal", Thomas J. Paprocki, First Things, February 28, 2023 (2023-12-22)
