Cardinal Víctor Fernández meets with Tawadros II to resolve tension over Fiducia supplicans

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, met in Cairo (Egypt) with the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church in an attempt to resolve the tensions generated by Begging for confidencethe Vatican statement that allows liturgical blessings for same-sex couples.

Representing Pope Francis, Cardinal “Tucho” Fernández – author of the document – ​​has traveled to Egypt to reaffirm to the Coptic leader Tawadros II that the Catholic Church rejects homosexual marriage.

It should be remembered that on March 7 of this year, the Orthodox Church decided “suspend dialogue” theological with the Catholic Church when considering a “change in the position of Catholics on homosexuality.”

This decision was announced after the celebration of their annual Synod in which 110 Coptic leaders issued a total of nine decrees. Among them, their “firm position of rejection” of the so-called homosexual marriage was expressed.

After this rupture, Cardinal Fernández visited the leader of more than 20 million Christians on Wednesday, May 22, to mitigate the negative impact that it has generated. Begging for trust and thus promote ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches.

As reported by the Coptic Church in a statement and also Vatican Newsthe official media of the Vatican, Cardinal Fernández reiterated during the meeting that marriage “is only the union between a man and a woman open to the transmission of life.”

Likewise, the Argentine cardinal reaffirmed the words of Pope Francis in a recent interview and assured Tawadros II that the Catholic Church shares his teachings.

He also stressed that with the recent Vatican statement “the union between people is not blessed. If they appear together, the people are blessed, making the sign of the cross to each one and adding a short prayer.”

“But this must happen briefly, spontaneously, without any rite, without liturgical ornaments and without any external manifestation that could cause this blessing to be confused with a wedding,” the cardinal clarified in an attempt to smooth over rough edges.

The considered “ghostwriter” (ghostwriter) of Pope Francis insisted that the most important thing “is to guarantee that this type of simple, spontaneous and pastoral blessings can also be imparted on the street, on the occasion of pilgrimages, and can be received by everyone, in any condition where they are.”

He also clarified that these types of blessings do not grant a “sanctifying grace” but are “current graces” of the Holy Spirit that help the sinner on the path to conversion.

Tawadros II also spoke with the cardinal about the ethos historical, cultural and social of the Egyptian people and, subsequently, the prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith met with other Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant patriarchs and bishops.

Pope Francis’ recent statements on Begging for confidence

Pope Francis stated in a recent interview with the program 60 Minutes of the American network CBS, that “blessing a homosexual union goes against natural law.”

“What I allowed was not to bless the union. No, that cannot be done because that is not a sacrament. I can’t, the Lord made it that way, but yes (you can) bless the person,” said the Holy Father.

Ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church

It is worth remembering that in May 2023 an unprecedented ecumenical gesture was experienced in the Vatican: the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II was invited by Pope Francis to participate in the General Hearing at his side.

The Holy Father and Tawadros II carried out an unprecedented and historic gesture in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, where both prayed together the Lord’s Prayer, blessed the Catholic and Coptic faithful and remembered the 21 Coptic martyrs beheaded by the Islamic State in Libya.

This event took place within the framework of the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope Saint Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III in 1973, the first time that a Bishop of Rome and a Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church met, which culminated in the signing of a memorable joint Christological declaration.

In the historic General Audience of 2023, the Holy Father recalled that “Coptic-Catholic Friendship Day” is celebrated every May 10 and expressed his good relationship with Tawadros II: “We talk to each other on the phone, we greet each other, we remain good brothers, we have not fought.”