Francis DeBernardo

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Pope Leo XIV will have to face the gospel according to his German bishops

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Pope Leo XIV will have to face the gospel according to his German bishops

The days after a pope's death are hectic and it's a hard time for Vatican officials to examine complex, controversial documents.

Nevertheless, the bishops of German -- two days Pope Francis died on April 21 -- announced guidelines for handling blessings for same-sex couples and other "irregular" relationships. The "Blessing gives strength to love" summary mentioned, with a nod to the Vatican, that these rites "should be designed in such a way that there is no confusion with the liturgical celebration of the sacrament of marriage."

The instructions, however, noted the need to consider a "couple's wishes" about the setting, choosing details "in a theologically meaningful way." Also, the "aesthetics, including music and singing, should express the appreciation of the people who ask for the blessing, their togetherness and their faith." Appropriate "biblical texts should be recited" and interpreted.

Blessing prayers should proclaim: "Those God blesses, upon whom he 'makes his face shine' " are blessed to thrive "under God's loving gaze."

Then, on May 2, a committee of German bishops and laity announced plans to discuss a text entitled "Respecting decisions of conscience in matters of birth control." On May 3, Bishop Georg Bätzing -- chair of the German bishops' conference -- voiced his full support for the ordination of women in Catholic ministry.

Welcome to the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV.

While outsiders have focused on the political impact of the 267th pope -- an American who has served in Peru and Rome -- insiders have searched the career of Robert Francis Prevost for hints as to how he will handle conflicts about Catholic worship and doctrine. Germany is ground zero.

"Both orthodox Catholics and modernists have been celebrating, while there have been naysayers on both sides, too," noted Vatican analyst Serre Verweij, writing for Rorate Caeli (Drop down, O heavens). "This reflects the fact Prevost was touted as a 'compromise candidate' and pushed by strong prelates on both sides. Both the orthodox and the modernists seem to think, or hope, that the new Pope actually leans more in their direction. … So, to put it crudely, the real question is: who got played?"

Texts -- past and present -- produced by Prevost are being analyzed and reanalyzed by his supporters and critics. 

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Clash over changing doctrine? Pope Francis offers logic for more same-sex blessings

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Clash over changing doctrine? Pope Francis offers logic for more same-sex blessings

The same-sex blessings near Cologne Cathedral were a public salute to scores of private ceremonies among European Catholics in recent years.

The crowd waved rainbow flags and, according to media reports, sang "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles. The mid-September rites included Catholic priests reciting blessings for same-sex and heterosexual couples and, though held outside of Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki's cathedral, represented a bold ecclesiastical affront to the city's conservative archbishop.

Are these rites "weddings"? That was a crucial issue raised by five cardinals in "dubia" (Latin for "doubts") questions sent to Pope Francis weeks before the Vatican's global "Synod on Synodality," which opened this week. The five cardinals requested "yes" or "no" answers.

Instead, the pope offered a detailed analysis in which he restated established Catholic doctrines, noting that "the reality that we call marriage has a unique essential constitution that demands an exclusive name." Thus, the church should avoid rites giving the "impression that something that is not marriage is recognized as marriage."

Nevertheless, Pope Francis -- writing in July -- urged "pastoral charity" in this issue. Thus, the "defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity, which is also made up of kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement. Therefore, we cannot become judges who only deny, reject, exclude.

"For this reason, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing … that do not transmit a mistaken conception of marriage. For when a blessing is requested, one is expressing a request for help from God, a plea for a better life, a trust in a Father who can help us to live better."

This drew praise from Francis DeBernardo, leader of the New Ways Ministry for Catholics seeking changes in centuries of Christian doctrine on sexuality.

"The allowance for pastoral ministers to bless same-gender couples implies that the church does indeed recognize that holy love can exist between same-gender couples, and the love of these couples mirrors the love of God," he wrote.

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New ways of seeing dignity: Did pope signal a shift that helps LGBTQ Catholics?

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New ways of seeing dignity: Did pope signal a shift that helps LGBTQ Catholics?

Starting in the 1970s, New Ways Ministry leaders crisscrossed America, urging Catholics to believe that somehow, someday, the Vatican would repent of what they saw as the church's dangerous doctrines on homosexuality.

During a 1989 Denver workshop, the late Father Robert Nugent stressed that there was more to the church's teachings than homophobia and heterosexism. Hopeful tensions already existed in official church statements and the Catechism.

For example, a 1986 Vatican letter said: "Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered towards an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder."

However, Nugent explained, the church also defends the dignity of all persons, including gays and lesbians. Someday, a reformer pope may argue that church teachings could evolve, because of this larger truth about human dignity.

"We hear a lot of anger about the church and what it teaches,"he said, several years before Rome ordered him to cease his New Ways Ministry work. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- who later became Pope Benedict XVI -- led the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at that time. 

"We try to say (to gays and lesbians), 'Hey folks, what the church is saying isn't all bad news,' " said Nugent.

Three decades later, New Ways Ministry is still making that argument, especially in light of new language used by Pope Francis and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's current leader, in their condemnation of the death penalty.

The updated Catholic Catechism now proclaims that there is "an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. … Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that 'the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,' and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide."

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