Cardinal Fernández: German bishops’ blessings document does not have Vatican approval

May 07, 2026

The prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith told Vatican News that the German bishops’ April 2025 document, “Segnungen für Paare, die sich lieben“ (Blessings for couples who love one another) does not have Vatican approval.

Earlier in the week, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released a 2024 letter stating that “Blessings for couples who love one another,” then a draft document then under consideration by the German bishops, violates Fiducia Supplicans, the dicastery’s declaration on the pastoral meaning of blessings.

“What was said in that letter also applies to the text of the current Vademecum, which does not have the approval” of the dicastery, said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the dicastery’s prefect.

Fiducia Supplicans states:

Within the horizon outlined here appears the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex, the form of which should not be fixed ritually by ecclesial authorities to avoid producing confusion with the blessing proper to the Sacrament of Marriage ...

One should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation. At the same time, one should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing.

 

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Further information:

• DDF responds to vademecum on blessings in Germany (Vatican News, 5/6/26)
• DDF publishes 2024 criticism of German bishops’ guide for blessing irregular unions (CWN, 5/5/26)