The recent outing of Pope Francis on the blessing of individuals in a same sex marriage has highlighted a gap between Progressive and Conservative Catholics.
Thursday 21 December from the Vatican, the Pope however reminded the Roman Curia in a traditional Christmas Greeting exchange that, “only those who love fare forward.”
“Today we strive to kindle passion in those who have long lost it. Sixty years after the Council, we are still debating the division between ‘progressives’ and ‘conservatives,’ while the real difference is between lovers and those who have lost that initial passion” he said.
Following, the document Fiducia Supplicans issued by the Pope on Monday, reactions have been varied from clerics across Africa. The Bishops of Nigeria understand that, “the declaration reiterates the Catholic Church’s perennial teaching on marriage as an exclusive, stable and indissoluble union of a man and woman, naturally open to the generation of children.”
“Also, reinforces the truth about God’s mercy. For one to willingly ask for a blessing demonstrates one’s trust in God and the desire to live according to God’s commandments. Asking for God’s blessing is not dependent on how good one is. Imperfection is the reason for seeking God’s grace. Therefore, those in irregular unions are invited never to lose hope but rather to ask for God’s grace and mercy while remaining open to conversion.” They went on to say.
However, the Bishops of Cameroon, in their official letter stated that, “Literally, “To bless is to say good.” And to speak well of a gesture of blessing a “homosexual couple” would be to encourage a choice and a practice of life which cannot be recognized as being objectively ordered to the revealed purposes of God. We therefore declare non-compliant any form of blessing which tends to recognize “homosexual couples” as a state of life.”
Pope Francis according to the Reuters, “has tried to make the Church more welcoming to people who feel excluded, such as members of the LGBT community, but without changing any part of Church teachings on moral issues.”