Some thoughts on “Fiducia Supplicans”

Christian Renaissance Movement

We could have done without it.

There are a few questions I have – “doubts,” one might say…

  1. What exactly was the need for addressing this issue in the first place, as opposed to any number of issues which seem much more pressing and much more serious to the vast majority of informed observers, especially given the very recent (and largely opposite) treatment by the DDF?
  2. Is it Roman opinion that there were clergy “on the fence” about this practice who will now fundamentally change how they minister?
  3. Did not occur to the DDF that, in fact, all kinds of “irregular couples” have been blessed for ages – even “liturgically” in the strictest sense – ever since such people have showed up at Mass and stayed to the end, when everyone present gets a blessing?
  4. Why is it presumed to be appropriate or advantageous to give “one” blessing to two people whose “couplehood” in and of itself clearly presents seriously problematic moral data, rather than two individual blessings to the two individuals of the “couple” (or however many members of a polyamorous relationship)? (This is the most important question.) Is it because some priests have very tired arms and can only muster one motion of the hand? Or are drive-by blessings a thing in some places? Yes, no? What is it?
  5. If the confusion and blowback were foreseen, what is the need for all the explanation, especially since the document said not to expect clarification? If the confusion and blowback were not foreseen, why? What is the plan to keep this from happening again? Is there one?
  6. If “irregular couples” can be blessed “non-liturgically” or “pastorally,” does this extend to other groups or associations which of themselves or in their proper context are morally problematic, such as terrorist camps, conventions of abortionists, and other such entities, especially given that these seem to need grace even more than “irregular couples”? If not, why not? Is it merely a prudential consideration, or is it something intrinsic to the act itself?
  7. Why was it not recommended instead merely to pray for “irregular couples,” rather than to “bless” them, especially given that much of the world is unable to distinguish “blessing a couple” from “blessing a union” or even from “witnessing a marriage”?

So, those are some questions. The argument that some have made about cohabiting heterosexual couples receiving blessings (i.e. in the context of a marriage preparation session) fails; the reason is that such a relationship does not present a problem in and of itself the way that adulterous, homosexual, or polygamous relationships do. There is a legitimate “telos” or “end” of the relationship as such with a single man and a single woman. Not so with the “irregular.”

I really do think that ignorance is a better explanation than malice. I also think that Fiducia Supplicans, for all its issues, has called attention to a serious problem which has until now not been so evident – we have a very weak understanding all around of what exactly “blessings” are and how they work. I hope to do a follow-up post in some weeks to go through some points which could be helpful (i.e. the distinction between invocative blessings and constitutive blessings).

We need to pray. Don’t get angry, get pious.

Catholic Meme Friday – DDF shenanigans

Christian Renaissance Movement

We should make fun of what is ridiculous, with due respect for people and their office.

The DDF is an absolute clown car right now, putting out seriously harmful nonsense.

I remind you the WORST thing, which went relatively unnoticed, was the Prefect strongly implying a few weeks ago in that document on cremation that Catholics can believe in reincarnation…

I’ll release my own thoughts on “Fiducia Supplicans” in a few more days. It’s good to take time to think before reacting.

Towards Constantinople…

Christian Renaissance Movement

…then to Rome.

In honor all that is good in the legacy of Constantinople (now Istanbul), read Universalis’s description of the saint who penned today’s second reading from the Office of Readings, St. Maximus the Confessor. (Then maybe give the reading itself a shot.)

And, since I am still in America, it is most appropriate to celebrate the first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, so close to my own heart because of her foundation in Emmitsburg, where my alma mater Mount St. Mary’s University is, the legacy of which is intertwined with her own. It is her feast today. Check out her story!

A domani…
-Eamonn

The relevance of Africa

Christian Renaissance Movement

Most of my readership is American, and a small chunk is from Europe. A smattering of readers in Asia from time to time.

So let me tell you that what matters right now in the Church is Africa.

Everyone is seeing the African response to a certain DDF text. Okay. The energy and orthodoxy, by and large, is south of the Sahara these days.

There are certainly problems with some of the way things are done “down there.” Many men enter seminary for the wrong reasons. There are some odd ideas about chastity. There is a certain kind of chaos.

But that is where the Finger of God has come down in this age. Recall that the center of Christendom used to be in what is now Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt… It has taken some 1600 years for that energy to move across the desert, after a European vacation.

I joke with my many African priest friends sometimes – “Africa is a big country.” They know I am joking but rush to correct me… “AFRICA IS A CONTINENT!” How many times they’ve heard an American or other Westerner something like, “Oh, you’re from Africa? Do you know Fr. XYZ? He’s from Africa too!”

In some places, a diocese will have several hundred seminarians. The bishops have so many men they hardly know what to do with them. And so plenty find their way to a parish near you. And you get their preaching, teaching, confessing, management, leadership. And that will be more and more frequently the case. So why are you not more interested in African Catholicism?

There ARE ways to find out about Catholic Africa without actually going there. But they are either very “formal,” like CNA Africa, or they are so local as to be totally uninteresting to a wide audience unless there is some particular crisis or major event – like the sudden rush of interest in certain bishops and dioceses after Fiducia Supplicans, for example.

There needs to be a news service that is both local and detailed enough to be interesting and informed while still being broad enough to be of interest to all of Africa and beyond. It needs to be run differently than the traditional cable-style news channels, with their bulky and slow-moving systems. We need something more agile and in-depth, something more creative… Something which informs on current events but also goes deeper, something which will give non-Africans a perspective on what exactly is going on in that “big country” so that we are all a little less ignorant.

So that’s another project for 2024.

If investing in or otherwise working on an African Catholic news service interests you, get in touch with me. I have already begun the initial conversation, and I hope things will move forward significantly in the summer or fall. More details to follow.

Pius XI and his chasuble

Christian Renaissance Movement

Today is the Feast of Ss. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen. I posted once a great speech of Gregory – his farewell address at First Constantinople, after he abdicated from the patriarchal throne after a few weeks’ time… First Constantinople was one of the craziest ecumenical councils we’ve ever had (while Chalcedon is probably the craziest, the most dramatic, and even the most important). You can also read some of Gregory’s letters to Basil here…

Today, a different act of filial piety – I found some footage of Pius XI which I had never seen before. That’s unusual. I recently held some photographs in my hands that have not been published, and I am also now in possession of a copy of his handwritten notes on the (in)famous paragraphs in Quadragesimo Anno which almost provoked a civil war. I also discovered his seemingly unpublished diaries about his time as nuncio in Poland.

Speaking of Poland…

I return to Rome in a few days. Next week I begin work in the Jesuit archives, looking at things going on there during Pius XI’s papacy… He was very close to the Superior General (Polish!), whose family was enormously impressive – more on that later.

Saints Basil and Gregory, pray for us!

My New Year’s Predictions (2024)

Christian Renaissance Movement

It’s that time of year again. Let’s see how I did last time…

1 – A stalemate/compromise will be formally ratified in a ceasefire/treaty agreement between Ukraine and Russia. – No.

2 – Northern Ireland will announce a referendum on leaving the U.K. – No.

3 – No new American (USA) Cardinals will be named. – Yes.

4 – There will be a schism in India as a result of the ongoing Syro-Malabar liturgical dispute. – No… barely.

5 – A B-List Hollywood actress will enter religious life. – No.

6 – A personal friend of mine will be chosen for the episcopacy. – No.

7 – The Pontifical Academy for Life will not have any more abortion supporters added to its membership roster. – Yes.

8 – No encyclicals will be promulgated by Pope Francis. – Yes.

9 – I will be able to do a planche for at least 5 seconds. – Heck no.

10 – The Mets will win the World Series. – No.

Well, that’s 3/10. Not great. Let’s try again.

1 – A Dominican will be canonized as a saint.

2 – No significant Roman action will occur on Medjugorje – either positive or negative.

3 – I will successfully complete my scheduled 100-mile ultramarathon from Rome to Assisi.

4 – The Personal Apostolic Administration in Campos (TLM diocese in southern Brazil) will receive become a major news item as a flashpoint over the old mass.

5 – Biden will drop out of the presidential race.

6 – Canada will win fewer than 20 medals at the Summer Olympics.

7 – Bud Light will still not have economically recovered from its advertising faux pas of 2023.

8 – There will be a major downturn of Bitcoin (at least 10% of market value from its high point today).

9 – This blog will reach 400 total subscribers (356 right now).

10 – K-Mart will go out of business.

Alright. Well. That is a bit of a mix. See you next year.

Up in smoke…

Christian Renaissance Movement

My final announcement about commercial enterprises I am involved with this year is about the tobacco company I am helping to launch in Malawi.

Malawi is consistently listed as one of the poorest countries in the world, and it has been described as “advanced Africa” – as opposed to “beginner Africa,” which would be a place like Ghana. (It is, however, remarkably peaceful, relative to other places nearby on the list – Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, etc.) The tobacco industry is enormous in the country, though it has taken a bit of a dive in recent years. This has caused many farmers to switch to growing a more lucrative crop – which is also smoked, but is green… so that they can feed their families. Malawi still remains for now among the top-10 exporters of tobacco in the world.

If you are interested in helping to build a Catholic tobacco brand, we are open to investors as low as $2,000 – which buys about five acres of rich land with product already growing on it.

I know it’s not everyone’s “thing.” But it is a good thing anyway. Hey… The last public building opened in the Papal States was Pius IX’s personal tobacco factory, in Trastevere… So, there.