- Feb 5, 2002
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(OSV News) — Two days after the Holy See’s Dec. 18, 2023, release of “Fiducia Supplicans,” Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said in a statement that the declaration “does not constitute a ‘step’ toward ratification of same-sex marriage nor a compromising of the Church’s teaching regarding those in irregular relationships.”
“Fiducia Supplicans is very much congruent with Pope Francis’s long-held conviction that those who do not live up to the full demand of the Church’s moral teaching are nevertheless loved and cherished by God and invited to accept the Lord’s offer of forgiveness,” he said.
The statement came amid a flurry of statements from other U.S. bishopsresponding to the document, but his appeared to carry extra weight — not just because of his prominence through his Word on Fire ministry, but also because it was released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, through Bishop Barron’s role as chairman of its Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
Beyond a short initial statement from a USCCB spokesperson, it was the USCCB’s only word on “Fiducia.” But, for weeks, the 5,000-word document was the center of conversation within the church — and much of it critical. On Bishop Barron’s own Facebook page, one commentator replied: “Now we know where you stand. Indeed, we are … living in a time of universal apostasy.”
Continued below.
“Fiducia Supplicans is very much congruent with Pope Francis’s long-held conviction that those who do not live up to the full demand of the Church’s moral teaching are nevertheless loved and cherished by God and invited to accept the Lord’s offer of forgiveness,” he said.
The statement came amid a flurry of statements from other U.S. bishopsresponding to the document, but his appeared to carry extra weight — not just because of his prominence through his Word on Fire ministry, but also because it was released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, through Bishop Barron’s role as chairman of its Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
Beyond a short initial statement from a USCCB spokesperson, it was the USCCB’s only word on “Fiducia.” But, for weeks, the 5,000-word document was the center of conversation within the church — and much of it critical. On Bishop Barron’s own Facebook page, one commentator replied: “Now we know where you stand. Indeed, we are … living in a time of universal apostasy.”
Continued below.
Debate over Vatican's 'Fiducia Supplicans' document persists one year later
A year after the Vatican's release of "Fiducia Supplicans," debate still continues over its allowance of blessings for same-sex couples.