Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • February 2, 2024 25 AshWednesday Collection Feb. 14 A small portion of collection pays for this advertisement. Ash W e d n e s d a y C o l l e c t i o n Feb. 14 A small portion of collection pays for this advertisement. To advertise in the Gulf Pine Catholic, call 228-702-2109 for more information. The document said that while the church “remains firm” in teaching that marriage is only a life-long union between a man and a woman, in certain circumstances priests can give non-sacramental, non-liturgical bless- ings to “couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.” Reaction from bishops to the document ran the gamut from saying it did not go far enough to outrage and diocesan bans on implementing it. Pope Francis told dicastery members that he wanted to make two points about the document. The first, he said, was that “these blessings, outside of any liturgical context and form, do not require moral perfection to be received.” Secondly, he said, “when a couple spontaneously approaches to ask for it, one does not bless the union, but simply the people who made the request together. Not the union, but the people, taking into account, of course, the context, the sensitivities, the places where people live and the most appropriate ways to do it.” In early January, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the dicastery, issued a note clarifying that “prudence and attention to the eccle- sial context and to the local culture could allow for different methods of application” of “Fiducia Supplicans.” In his speech to dicastery members, Pope Francis also mentioned a document on human dig- nity that the dicastery is working on. In an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE Jan. 13, Cardinal Fernández said, “We are prepar- ing a very important document on human dignity which includes not only social issues, but also a strong cri- tique of moral issues such as sex change, surrogacy, gender ideologies, etc.” “As Christians, we must not tire of insisting on the primacy of the human person and the defense of his or her dignity beyond every circumstance,” the pope said, adding that he hoped the new document “will help us, as a church, to always be close to all those who, without fanfare, in concrete daily life, fight and personally pay the price for defending the rights of those who do not count.” Pope Francis began his speech to the group by quot- ing the dicastery’s main task as described by “ Praedicate Evangelium,” which says it is “to help the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops to proclaim the Gospel through- out the world by promoting and safeguarding the integ- rity of Catholic teaching on faith and morals.” As the church prepares to celebrate the Holy Year 2025 and as it strives to preach the Gospel to a chang- ing world, he said, the dicastery must lead the way in helping the church “reflect again and with greater pas- sion on several themes: the proclamation and commu- nication of the faith in the contemporary world, espe- cially to the younger generations; the missionary con- version of ecclesial structures and pastoral workers; the new urban cultures with their many challenges but also unprecedented questions about meaning; finally, and especially, the centrality of the kerygma in the life and mission of the church.” In his 2013 exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium,” Pope Francis summarized the “kerygma” as the mes- sage: “Jesus Christ loves you; He gave His life to save you; and now He is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.” “For us, that which is most essential, most beautiful, most attractive and, at the same time, most necessary, is faith in Christ Jesus,” the pope told dicastery members. “All of us together, God willing, will solemnly renew it in the course of the jubilee year and each one of us is called to proclaim it to every man and woman on earth.” Pope Doctrinal Dicastery From page 4 For more info about vocations, call Rev. Braxton Necaise at (601) 264-5192.