Beyond ‘Fiducia Supplicans’

Francis’s reform of the Curia, approved in March 2022, was supposed to reshape the dicasteries, making them more collaborative and receptive to the global Church. But Fiducia supplicans raises questions about that. It doesn’t seem that other dicasteries were brought into the process; the declaration, signed by the prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and the secretary for the doctrinal section, Msgr. Armando Matteo, simply says that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith “consulted experts, undertook a careful drafting process, and discussed the text in the Congresso of the Doctrinal Section of the Dicastery.” The subtitle of the declaration is “On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings.” Fiducia supplicans is purportedly less about doctrine than about the liturgical life of the Church and pastoral care. One dicastery directly affected by the declaration is therefore the one for the liturgy for the definition of blessing. But the dicasteries for the bishops and the clergy also have some competency regarding a document aimed more at those who are in pastoral ministry—bishops, presbyters, and deacons—than at same-sex couples or others who are in “irregular situations.” Working with these parties might have helped in anticipating the negative reaction to Fiducia supplicans from the so-called “peripheries.” It is better to have things in order beforehand than to do damage control later.