Pope urges Vatican officials to avoid ‘rigid ideologies’ after approving blessings for gay couples
Pope Francis urged Vatican officials to avoid "rigid ideological positions" in a speech days after his recent approval of blessings for same-sex couples.
Addressing the Holy See hierarchy in his annual Christmas greeting last Thursday, Francis emphasized the importance of evolving to serve the Catholic Church effectively.
"In our service here in the Curia too, it is important to keep faring forward, to keep searching and growing in our understanding of the truth, overcoming the temptation to stand still and never leave the 'labyrinth' of our fears," the bishop of Rome said. "Fear, rigidity and monotony make for an immobility that has the apparent advantage of not creating problems ... but lead us to wander aimlessly within our labyrinths, to the detriment of the service we are called to offer the Church and the whole world."
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Francis warned against the fear-driven adherence to rules, which he said could hinder the Vatican Curia's service.
"Let us remain vigilant against rigid ideological positions that often, under the guise of good intentions, separate us from reality and prevent us from moving forward," the pontiff added.
Referring to the division between the conservatives and progressives, the pontiff said, "[t]he real, central difference is between lovers and those who have lost that initial passion. That is the difference. Only those who love can fare forward."
The pope also spoke against the "illusion of omniscience" and the danger of rigidly applying rules.
Quoting Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, Francis highlighted the distinction between discernment and legalistic exactitude, emphasizing the need for pastoral adaptability.
Earlier in the week, the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a declaration titled "Fiducia Supplicans," which provided "a broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a liturgical perspective."
While the Catholic Church still holds that marriage is a union reserved for one man and one woman, the declaration distinguishes between sacramental blessings and pastoral blessings, which can be given to persons who desire God's grace, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"It is precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church's perennial teaching on marriage," stated the Catholic Church leadership.
"This Declaration is also intended as a tribute to the faithful People of God, who worship the Lord with so many gestures of deep trust in his mercy and who, with this confidence, constantly come to seek a blessing from Mother Church."
The declaration warned that "one should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation."
"At the same time, one should not prevent or prohibit the Church's closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God's help through a simple blessing," the Vatican document added.
The declaration has elicited mixed reactions. Progressives and LGBT advocates welcomed it as a gesture of inclusion, while conservatives criticized it as contrary to biblical teachings on homosexuality.
In his Christmas greeting, Francis did not directly mention this declaration but urged listening and discernment, moving beyond the binary of progressives and conservatives.
A Catholic archbishop in Kazakhstan reportedly issued a formal repudiation of the Vatican doctrinal office's guidance, accusing the Catholic Church of propagating "gender ideology."
Tomash Peta, who has served as metropolitan archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana since 2003, prohibited any form of blessing for same-sex couples and also publicly admonished Pope Francis, asking him to revoke the guidance, according to The Catholic Herald.
The guidance also prompted responses from some U.S. bishops, with many reaffirming the Catholic Church's teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman while noting that the guidance does not change official teaching on the subject.
