By Amby Uneze, KSJI
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), and her counterparts in Malawi and Astana have taken time out to clarify the misconception associated with the declaration on the Pastoral meaning of blessings "Fiducia Supplicans" in otherwise meaning pleading with courage, by the Dicastery Doctrine of Faith, the bishops states that it does not mean blessing of the Same-sex-marriage by the Catholic priests.
The CBCN statement was signed by its President and Secretary, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri Catholic Archdiocese and Bishop Donatus Ogun, of Uromi Diocese respectively.
According to their separate statements, issued on December 20, 2023, it states that the declaration seeks to clarify the different forms of blessings that can be giving to persons and objects in Catholic Church, including the possibility of blessings to persons in irregular unions.
"Such unions include but are not limited to divorced or remarried couples whose previous marriages have not been annualled, those living in Same-sex-marriages, those in polygamous unions, in concubinage, etc.
"The declaration acknowledges and carefully distinguishes between ritual liturgical and informal blessings. While ritual or liturgical blessings are imparted according to the established norms of the Church, informal blessings refer to prayers over people who ask for them outside the liturgy or any formal celebration in the Church.
"The declaration a consideration of the possibility of extending the informal blessing to all God's children, irrespective of their moral condition, when they asked to be blessed. nevertheless, the declaration insists that the blessing of persons in irregular unions - and never the union itself - can only take a non-litugical form to avoid confusion. It should not be impacted during or in connection with a civil wedding ceremony or with clothing, words, and signs associated with a wedding.
"The declaration reiterates the Catholic Church's perennial teaching of marriages as an 'exclusive, stable and indissoluble union of a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children' and emphatically states that the Church does not have the power to impart blessings on irregular unions", the statement stated.
The Bishops noted that the declaration also reinforces the truth about God's mercy, stating that "for one to willingly ask for a blessing demonstrates one's trust in God and the desire to live according to God's commandments."
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