By: Gašper Blažič
I humbly report that in these days, we could really use a good soldier like Švejk who could lighten the already quite leaden and heavy atmosphere. This atmosphere is not only poisoned by current political conditions but also by the general mentality where it does not matter who is who, but rather who will prevail over whom. And yes, Švejk may have been a notorious fool in the eyes of some psychiatrist, but some of his statements have become quite popular. In this column, I would like to particularly emphasise one of them to the readers.
Do you still remember the two now legendary photo representations of Pope Francis circulating on social media? In one, the Pope appears in an expensive white coat, and in the other, he is wrapped in a rainbow flag. Of course, it was explained that these were deep fake technology creations, and it seemed that the Slovenian audience, especially its Catholic part, was somewhat reassured by this. As if to say, we are still on the right side. However, this was also a dangerous sign that certain lobbies, which have already taken hold of the Catholic Church in Germany and Austria, were also attempting to appropriate the Pope himself. When the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recently issued a declaration about whom priests can bless, they quickly seized the opportunity and, through secular media, proclaimed that same-sex couples would now be allowed to receive blessings. A bit strange, is it not? At least considering the recent news from the Vatican that the Pope concluded the debate with the German Synodal Path on controversial issues that had arisen during the time of the “father of modern German theology”, Hans Küng. Küng, the renowned thinker, soon after the Second Vatican Council, engaged in a sharp discussion with his then fellow professor in Tübingen, Joseph Ratzinger, who later became a cardinal and then Pope Benedict XVI.
Before I delve into the events of recent days, allow me one thing? Try to put yourself in this scenario. You enter a church and find yourself in the middle of a Mass. It is not necessary for you to be a Catholic or even a Christian (perhaps you follow the Orthodox or evangelical faith). You could be an agnostic, atheist, protestant, Hindu, or Muslim. However, during the Mass, no one will check your beliefs. At most, someone might glance at you oddly, thinking you are not participating or responding to the prayers. No harm done; this is a common occurrence because even those who rarely enter a church, except for Easter and Christmas, attend Masses for the deceased. Waiting until the end of the Mass, you can experience the priest’s blessing. This blessing is valid for you, even if you are not a Christian or if you are living in grave sin. Even during communion, no one checks in advance whether you are in a state to receive Jesus in the form of bread. Everyone does so at their own discretion. The responsibility of bishops and priests is to alert people to the potential inconsistency between receiving sacraments and their way of life. For example, children who have not yet received their first communion can join the communion line with crossed arms over their chests, and the priest will bless them. Similarly, adults with reservations about receiving communion may need to go to confession first.
So, a blessing can be received by anyone, even a non-Christian. Even if an individual asks a priest for a blessing, the priest cannot refuse. There are no specific conditions for this. For example, someone like me, writing this column, could be a very flawed individual, yet still receive a blessing. However, special sacramental blessings, which are part of rituals, do have specific conditions, such as the blessing of a marriage or rings. Outside of these rituals, a general blessing can be bestowed upon an individual at any time. For instance, during confession, if for objective reasons absolution cannot be given to the penitent (due to a lack of contrition, for example), a general blessing can still be given. Each such blessing signifies assistance to the recipient in their journey towards holiness and personal consecration. Growth is possible based on such a blessing. This is not about magic or automatism. More on this has been explained by exorcist Janez Kavčič HERE.
However, since yesterday’s presented document, “Fiducia supplicans”, has gained the status of a ground-breaking decision in the media regarding the attitude towards same-sex couples, it has clearly sparked a lot of indignation among a considerable portion of Catholics, including in Slovenia. In today’s reading culture, it is often enough to just read the headline, and one might think, we knew it, “this Pope is the Antichrist, a modernist, a globalist, and maybe even a supporter of gays”. The perception is that it will be permissible to bless same-sex couples, and same-sex marriages are not far off. This is how an average reader imagines the document issued yesterday. It is true that the timing is very awkward, and from a communication standpoint, it is very unusual that we, as Catholics in Slovenia, learned about it from secular media, which, of course, prematurely celebrated, but loudly enough to leave many confused, angry, even furious with the Pope, thinking he betrayed us – and not for the first time. This suggests that perhaps that photo of Pope Francis with the rainbow flag was not fake? Oh, but it was and still is fake.
In this regard, it must be acknowledged that the church communication aspect was quite poorly prepared for this moment. The magazine Družina only published an explanation on its website this morning about what this document contains, and some of this was attempted by the Blagovest portal late yesterday afternoon (HERE). However, the damage had already been done. Above all, there was a lack of a translation of the document that could convincingly present what the Holy See has actually decided and refute what we think the Holy See has decided. And, of course, neither the Pope nor the Vatican nor the Holy See nor any congregation has liberalised church doctrine on same-sex orientation and practice in any case. That we can say.
Let’s take the most important part of the article from the Družina website: The document says, writes pillarcatholic.com, that people who spontaneously come to ask for a blessing “with this request show their sincere openness to the transcendent, trust in their hearts, not only in their own powers, show their need for God, and their desire to break free from the narrow limits of this world, closed in its limitations”. The text encourages couples to seek a blessing, not to confirm immorality, but to affirm their desire for God’s presence in their lives. Blessings, as stated in the new Vatican document, are “a pastoral resource that we must value, not a risk or a problem”.
Therefore, let’s put it in Švejk’s terms: no need to panic, please! Because, in fact, no significant revolutionary change occurred on the previous day. It is true that we are still awaiting the translation of the document to understand why it was issued in the first place. And, of course, if someone receives a blessing from a priest while living in an irregular relationship, it does not mean that the Church and/or the priest granting the blessing approves of that irregular status. However, in this way, we can facilitate an easier path to conversion for those living in irregular relationships. Even Jesus did not avoid the Samaritan woman, who reportedly had been married five times and was “living with” her sixth partner (as reported in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John). However, her encounter with Jesus completely transformed her. Therefore, nothing has changed in terms of church doctrine.
So, Merry Christmas, and again: no need to panic!