Worldwide Catholic opposition to the Vatican’s pre-Christmas declaration allowing blessings for same-sex couples has continued to escalate since the revolutionary papal document was issued. Fiducia Supplicans (“Supplicating Trust”) was released on December 18, one week before Christmas, by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), headed by the recently installed Cardinal Víctor Manuel “Tucho” Fernández of Argentina. Fernández, a controversial and heterodox Jesuit, is a longtime friend, protégé, and advisor of Pope Francis, dating back to the pope’s years as Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires. Fernández’ “liberal” views on sexuality stirred concerns as far back as 1995, when he became known as the “Kissing Priest” due to his authorship of the now-infamous erotic book Heal Me With Your Mouth: The Art of Kissing.

His appointment as titular archbishop of Tiburnia, Italy, in May 2013 (Pope Francis’ first episcopal consecration) was viewed by Vatican watchers as an unmistakable signal of seismic changes to come. Fernández has served as the main ghostwriter for Francis’ most radical documents: Laudato Si’ on global warming and the environment (2015) and Amoris Laetitia on marriage and the family (2016). In 2018, he was elevated to the archbishopric of La Plata, Argentina. In 2023, Pope Francis named him prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and bestowed on him a cardinal’s red hat.

“Scandalous,” “Self-Contradictory,” “Deceitful,” “Blasphemous”

According to Cardinal Fernández, the new directive on blessings, Fiducia Supplicans (subtitled “On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings”), “remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage,” and does not allow “any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion.”

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