VATICAN CITY (AP) — In the biggest rebuke to Pope Francis, the Catholic bishops of Africa and Madagascar issued a joint statement Thursday refusing to follow his statement allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples and arguing that such unions are “contrary to God’s will”.
The statement, signed by Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo on behalf of the symposium of African national bishops’ conferences, marked the closest thing to a continent-wide dissent since the declaration approved by Francis on December 18 allowing priests to offer such blessings.
This statement from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has shocked the Catholic Church, exciting LGBTQ+ Catholics as a concrete sign of Francis’ welcome but troubling message for conservatives who fear that the church’s core doctrines are being ignored or violated.
The dispute has deepened a growing rift between Francis’s progressive, reformist papacy and the conservative church in much of the world. especially Africa, where the number of Catholics is increasing at a faster rate than anywhere else.
The Vatican statement reiterated traditional church teaching that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman. But it allowed priests to offer spontaneous, non-liturgical blessings to same-sex couples seeking God’s grace in their lives, provided those blessings were not confused with the rites and rituals of a wedding.
In his statement, Ambongo said it was not appropriate for African priests to offer such blessings because of the scandal and confusion it would create. He cited biblical teaching that condemns homosexuality as an abomination and the African cultural context, where he argued that LGBTQ+ unions “are seen as contrary to cultural norms and inherently corrupt.”
“Within the church family of God in Africa, this statement has sent a shock wave, has sown misunderstandings and turmoil in the minds of many lay believers, consecrated persons and even pastors, and has provoked strong reactions,” he wrote.
While stressing that African bishops remain in communion with Francis, he said they believe such blessings cannot take place because “in our context, this would cause confusion and be in direct opposition to the cultural ethos of African communities.”
A few weeks ago, the President of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, said that “people of the same sex who marry in this country should be taken to a stage to be stoned, once discovered”. In a radio broadcast on December 29, he asked Burundians living abroad who practice homosexuality “not to return to their homeland.”
Ambongo said the symposium’s statement was a “consolidated summary” of positions adopted by individual national bishops’ conferences and said he had received the “agreement” of Francis and the new prefect of the dogma office, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández.
The erroneous circulation of the statement of December 18 has increased conservative criticism of Fernandez, whom Francis appointed to the office in the summer. Fernández apparently published the text with little consultation within the Vatican and no warning to bishops in the rest of the world.
Usually, when such sensitive Vatican documents are prepared, an effort is made not to blindside at least local church leaders. They are often released with a cover letter or explanatory note published by the Vatican Media and given to journalists in advance under the embargo to ensure the report is accurate and considered.
No such additional documentation or preparation accompanied the Fiducia Supplicans, as the text is known, and its release was marked by individual bishops and entire national conferences expressing confusion and opposition.
Others welcomed it. France’s bishops’ conference, for example, said in a statement Wednesday that the statement encourages pastors to “generously bless the people who come to them humbly asking for God’s help.”
The document “reminds us that those who are unable to commit themselves to the sacrament of marriage are not excluded from the love of God or his church,” the French bishops said.
After its initial publication, Fernández was forced to issue a second explanatory note a few weeks later, insisting that there was nothing “heretical” in the document, but acknowledging opposing views. He acknowledged that this may not be true in some parts of the world either further “pastoral reflection” may be necessary.