The statements were made on Wednesday during the presentation of a book at the Augustinianum Patristic Institute in Rome, where the cardinal responded to journalists’ questions about the controversy sparked by the application that several German bishops have made of the declaration Fiducia supplicans.
“Let us hope we do not have to resort to sanctions”
“It is premature now to speak of sanctions. Let us hope that we never have to resort to sanctions and that problems can be resolved peacefully, as should happen in the Church,” the Secretary of State affirmed.
The statements come after several members of the German Bishops’ Conference have formalized blessings for homosexual couples in their dioceses, a practice that has been subject to corrections by the Holy See.
The controversy intensified following the publication of a letter from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith sent in 2024, which recalled that Fiducia supplicans does not authorize ritualized or institutionalized blessings of same-sex couples.
Leo XIV corrects the German interpretation of Fiducia supplicans
Leo XIV has also intervened in the controversy. During his return trip from Africa, the Pontiff stated that the blessing of couples—including same-sex or irregular unions—is not permitted beyond what has been established by the Holy See.
The statement represented a new warning to those who have attempted to present celebrations that go beyond what is provided for in the document approved during the pontificate of Francis as compatible with Fiducia supplicans.
An issue that remains open
Parolin’s statements coincide with the reflection recently published by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who recalled the relationship between the Holy See and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (FSSPX).
Schneider, who in 2015 was appointed by Pope Francis as visitor of the seminaries and houses of the Fraternity, questioned why the Vatican insists on avoiding sanctions and favoring dialogue in the case of the German bishops, while the canonical situation of the FSSPX remains unresolved decades after the 1988 episcopal consecrations.
In his article, the bishop leaves the question open: “Why not also apply this criterion to the Society of St. Pius X, which denies no dogma, recognizes the primacy of the Pope, prays for him and professes filial devotion to him, preserving only what the Church universally believed and celebrated until the Council?”