Fiducia: the defense of incompetence
By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Dec 22, 2023
One more thought on Fiducia Supplicans, and then I’ll turn to more pleasant topics. (And nearly everything short of the bubonic plague is a more pleasant topic.)
- If you draft a statement to affirm X, but then you realize that many (most?) people will take the message to mean Not-X, you don’t release that statement.
- Particularly if the statement says nothing especially new.
- Unless the denizens of the Vatican’s doctrinal office are completely unconscious they must have anticipated the reaction to Fiducia. They released it anyway.
- And the document is advertised as something new and important.
- Therefore:
- If you say that the document reaffirms Church teaching on marriage and human sexuality, you have a plausible case—although you won’t convince me.
- But if you say that the PURPOSE of the document was to reaffirm traditional teaching, that won’t wash.
- Unless you’re saying that the DDF is completely incompetent. Which might be the least disturbing explanation for the document.
Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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Posted by: grateful1 -
Jan. 06, 2024 2:30 PM ET USA
Confusion is of the devil -- especially when it's the intended product of intentional ambiguity. It's what enables this pontificate to speak out of both sides of its mouth, using the same words as a sword or a shield, as its agenda dictates at any given moment. Its hubris, duplicity, and disrespect for the faithful are astounding.
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Posted by: rfr46 -
Dec. 25, 2023 5:37 AM ET USA
Thank you, Phil, and Merry Christmas to you and your CC colleagues. Thanks to you all for honest but charitable words. Unfortunately, the bubonic plague is looking better and better by comparison to PF's messes!
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Posted by: josephrwilson5691 -
Dec. 23, 2023 5:41 PM ET USA
Could Fiduciary Supplicans be considered jesuitical? Asking for a friend. Could money also be a motivator?
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Posted by: TheJournalist64 -
Dec. 23, 2023 12:13 PM ET USA
Bravo to the good leader of the Ukranian Catholic Church for telling his priests and people to ignore the document; Bravo to Cardinal Chaput for his unequivocal critique. And hurray for the African bishops for working toward a continent-wide response. As a cleric, I can say it gives me more reason to be happy about my retirement from pastoral ministry, but empathetic toward the guys who are left active.
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Posted by: mary_conces3421 -
Dec. 22, 2023 10:34 PM ET USA
It’s rotten leadership. And particularly hard on those who converted to Catholicism for its clarity on sexual teachings.
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Posted by: jalsardl5053 -
Dec. 22, 2023 7:52 PM ET USA
"Heresy is a freely chosen denial or stubborn doubt by a Christian of Catholic doctrine." Vagueness is not a get out of jail card from heresy. And there have been several important doctrinal matters where vagueness reigns supreme and challenges to clarify have been ignored or responded to with continued vagueness.
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Posted by: FrHughM -
Dec. 22, 2023 4:49 PM ET USA
Instead of trying to protect priests & people from the LGBT juggernaut, it's throwing us under it.
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Posted by: feedback -
Dec. 22, 2023 11:02 AM ET USA
The conspiracy theorist in me now wonders if this was the main reason why Bishop Strickland was removed? No doubt that he would be the first critic of fiducia.
