"LGBT ‘Catholic’ groups celebrate Fiducia Supplicans as an endorsement of homo relationships"

"LGBT 'Catholic' groups and individuals are praising Fiducia Supplicans as a not-so tacit endorsement of homosexual relationships — if not a step toward sacramental homosexual 'marriages' — by the Holy See while chiding prelates and priests who recognize the declaration as an outright attack on truth, undermining Scriptural authority and the magisterium of the Church.

'This statement from the Vatican is a dramatic reversal of a document issued about two and a half years ago that declared blessings for same-sex couples could not be offered,' said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, an organization for LGBTQ-identifying Catholics.

A recent press release from the organization noted that 'DignityUSA has blessed same-sex relationships since the 1970s and has called for equal access to marriage for LGBTQIA+ people for over 25 years.'

'This is an important recognition that the denial of blessings caused great pastoral harm to many and demonstrates a willingness to rethink discriminatory and dehumanizing theology,' Duddy-Burke said. 'It also feels like a vindication of the work so many LGBTQIA+ Catholics and allies have been doing for decades to convey our deep conviction that our sexuality and gender identities are blessings from God, and totally consistent with being faithful Catholics.'

Saying what supporters of Pope Francis refuse to acknowledge, Duddy-Burke said Fiducia Supplicans is a step toward full equality and affirmation of same-sex relationships.

'It is clear from this statement that sacramental recognition of same-sex relationships is not yet on the table,' she said. 'However, the Pope has expressed support for civil unions and legal protections of same-sex couples and our families. Perhaps even more importantly, significant majorities of Catholics in many countries already believe that same-sex couples’ relationships are holy, blessed, and equivalent to marriage. It may take time, but we fully expect that the official church will achieve this recognition, as well.'

'We encourage pastors around the country, and across the globe, to take advantage of this new permission to bestow blessings on same-sex couples who ask for this sign of affirmation,' she added.

Writing for Outreach, a Jesuit-run online resource for LGBTQ Catholics, Fr. James Martin wrote that Fiducia Supplicans is a 'major step forward for LGBTQ Catholics,' in part, because it 'continues Pope Francis’ continual outreach to LGBTQ people.'

Martin explained:

[D]uring the month of October, Pope Francis met with LGBTQ representatives three times. A few days before the Synod began, he met with me in a private audience at the Casa Santa Marta; halfway through the Synod, he met with Jeannine Gramick, S.L., along with her New Ways Ministry team; and finally, during a general audience toward the end of the month, he met with Marianne Duddy-Burke and other representatives from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics (G.N.R.C.), an umbrella group for LGBTQ Catholic groups worldwide...

'[Fiducia Supplicans] refers to blessings of couples. It doesn’t say separate individuals,' said Paul Riofski, a 66-year-old homosexual, according to a report in the Bay Area Reporter.

Riofski, who for decades has been a member of San Francisco’s LGBTQ 'Dignity' group, an organization for LGBTQ-identifying Catholics, was commenting on a directive concerning Fiducia Supplicans given by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to the priests of his diocese concerning the blessing of homosexual couples.

Cordileone’s private memorandum said 'any priest has the right to deny such blessings if, in his judgment, doing so would be a source of scandal in any way.'"