Published October 02,2023
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Pope Frances has responded to 5 conservative cardinals who requested him to take a stand on sure questions of doctrine, most notably blessings for gay {couples}, in a so-called Dubia Letter made public forward of a significant synod within the Vatican.
In such a letter, “dubia,” or doubts, are put to the pope with the expectation they are going to be answered in a Yes or No format.
It was signed by Walter Brandmüller from Germany, Raymond Burke from the United States, Juan Sandoval from Mexico, Robert Sarah from Guinea and Joseph Zen from Hong Kong.
Francis is seen by church conservatives as pushing a reform agenda out of line with conventional teachings.
The pope’s reply on blessings for gay {couples} was notably putting, as he didn’t essentially reject the observe.
Francis reiterated that marriage is a union between a person and a girl. But he mentioned that maybe a means might be discovered to bless gay unions with out going towards primary church teachings in regards to the nature of marriage.
He mentioned he was against establishing official church laws on the matter of the blessings, implying that it was finest for choices to be made on the parish stage.
In Germany, as an illustration, blessing providers for LGBTQ {couples} have been held in lots of congregations. However, a Catholic same-sex couple can’t demand such a blessing – it relies upon solely on whether or not the priest in query is prepared to take action.
The cardinals despatched the letter to the pope in July. They did obtain a response from the pope, though not within the ordinary Yes or No format.
Those solutions had been launched by the Vatican solely on Monday, though the response really got here in July.
The cardinals had additionally despatched a rephrased letter to the pope in August, in an try and elicit the the Yes or No solutions. They didn’t obtain a reply to that letter.
The proven fact that the Vatican printed the pope’s response is seen by church specialists as a outstanding step.
The back-and-forth between the conservative cardinals and the pope went public days earlier than the beginning of the World Synod, at which clerics and non-clerics, each women and men, will debate the church’s future.
Source: www.anews.com.tr