Dear Parishioners,

A parishioner by the name of Lily Santiago experienced a great loss recently in the death of her husband Ernie whose funeral Mass we celebrated on December 22nd. Lily and Ernie were married for 52 years and had 2 children, Carl & Lorna, as well as 2 grandchildren. Ernie was a medical doctor who helped others in their illness. Sadly, he had experienced years of physical and mental decline himself, but his wife Lily stood by his side & took such great care of him, expressing incredible sacrificial love. I anointed him many times over the years in their home, but also remember the two of them sitting together in church for Mass before Ernie became too ill to leave home. May Ernie now rest in heavenly peace.

If you’ve had any contact with the outside world recently, you would know that there has been much controversy over a Vatican document (a “declaration”) entitled Fiducia Supplicans, which is translated as “On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings.” It was submitted to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who approved it with his signature. This document has caused much consternation from both Catholics and non-Catholics alike as it concerns the blessing of those couples who are in a same-sex or irregular relationship. An “irregular” relationship would be a couple who are cohabiting outside of marriage, or couples who have been civilly married but not married in the Church. I have not seen such debate about a Vatican declaration for many years, if ever during my years as a priest.

I have thoroughly read the document in question (which I encourage all to do if you are curious about exactly what was said) and it can be found on the Vatican website as well as many other places on the internet and is published in several languages.

The first thing that the document makes clear is this: that the Church’s traditional teaching on marriage (that it is only between a man and a woman) has not changed. Secondly, it seeks to clarify that a priest may not give a blessing or celebrate a liturgical rite that can sow confusion or imply that the Church is approving of a same-sexed or irregular relationship. It then goes on to describe how the blessing of a priest can contribute to the pastoral outreach a priest is expected to have toward all people.

The problem, it seems to me, concerns how a priest can bless a “couple” who are in a same-sex or irregular relationship. What exactly is the priest blessing? Two individuals who are seeking to follow the will of God, or a couple who is living in a sinful relationship? Even as I try diligently to be as precise and accurate as possible in communicating this issue to you here, I find it challenging to use language that will not confuse or complicate the matter. And of course, I always advise in such cases not to trust the media who have rightly been severely criticized for their biased interpretation of the matter.

Though you are always welcomed to ask me personally about this issue, perhaps the best I could do in this limited space is to quote from the statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “The Declaration issued today by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) articulated a distinction between liturgical (sacramental) blessings, and pastoral blessings, which may be given to persons who desire God’s loving grace in their lives. The Church’s teaching on marriage has not changed, and this declaration affirms that, while also making an effort to accompany people through the imparting of pastoral blessings because each of us needs God’s healing love and mercy in our lives.”

Fr. James Schmitz