RELIIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – The document was bound to cause a stir in any Catholic quarters. But it was a storm of protest that swept across Africa in the days following the publication on December 18 of a “doctrinal declaration” authorizing the blessing (the act of invoking divine benevolence on one or more persons) of homosexual couples and “undocumented couples,” including remarried divorcees.
Le Lemond reported this text from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Roman Curia institution responsible for overseeing Catholic dogma, entitled “Fiducia supplicans” (“Supplicant trust”) was drafted by Cardinal Manuel Fernandez, head of the organization, but signed and approved by the Pope.
While advocates of the LGBTQ+ community rejoiced – particularly in Belgium and Germany, where the episcopate had called for such a step forward – representatives of the Catholic Church in Africa showed widespread defiance. This was expressed on December 20 in a letter written by the Archbishop of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC), Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, who is also president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, which brings together all the continent’s senior clergy.
“The ambiguity of this declaration [of December 18], which lends itself to numerous interpretations and manipulations, is causing much perplexity among the faithful,” he wrote. He asked the continent’s bishops’ conferences to give their opinion on the tex signed by Pope Francis in order to “draw up a single synodal declaration, valid for the whole Church in Africa” – the aim being to be able to “issue a pastoral statement on the subject, which will serve as a general guideline for all the local Churches on our continent”.