By Jennifer Roback Morse, Christian Post Op-Ed Contributor, January 15, 2024
My friends at the Christian Post have asked for my insights, as a faithful Roman Catholic, regarding the recent Vatican document Fiducia Supplicans. I am honored to be asked. The Vatican’s recent actions have caused tremendous confusion. All of us who are committed to traditional Christian sexual morality must keep our wits about us if we are to navigate this mess.
The Sexual Revolution is intrinsically seductive. The Revolution claims that people can have all the sex they want, under any circumstances they want, and nothing bad will happen. Lots of people would like to believe this, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The Sexual Revolution has corrupted every authority structure in the West: political, educational, academic, all the professions, and yes, pretty much all the major religious structures.
I remember what the Episcopalians went through when their leadership insisted on ordaining homosexually active men and even consecrating an openly gay man as bishop. The denomination split. In many cases, the most traditional members lost their church property. Many placed themselves under the authority of African bishops. I thought to myself, “our brothers and sisters are in agony.”
Now, it is our turn to suffer.
Sola Scriptura has not protected you from the ravages of the Sexual Revolution. Papal infallibility has not protected us. I conclude that unless a person or institution specifically and intentionally resists the Sexual Revolution, it will sweep you away.
Some Catholics are taking comfort from the idea that the doctrine reaffirms important points of Christian teaching. And that is technically correct. But no one needed a new 5,000-word document to reaffirm things that could have been stated in less than 100 words.
The remaining 4,900 words were weasel words. The weasel words are the point of the document. In my opinion, this document is psychological warfare, a psy op, one more psychological operation in an ongoing campaign to disarm opposition to the Sexual Revolution.
Let me be as clear as I possibly can about how Catholics understand themselves and their church.
Pope Francis has not changed the teaching of the Church BECAUSE He does not have the authority to change the teaching of the Church.
Technically this document does not meet the very high threshold required for a papal pronouncement to be “infallible.” In that legalistic sense, Pope Francis has not changed the teaching of the Church on homosexual acts and the definition of marriage. I predict he will not cross that line. However, this document has changed the allowable pastoral practice so much, that our counter-cultural, life-giving teaching is obscured.
Sadly, this is not the only instance in which the gap between Catholic doctrine and Catholic practice has left us in bad shape. On paper, the Catholic Church maintains the biblical prohibition on divorce and remarriage. On paper, the Catholic Church maintains the ancient and universal Christian prohibition on contraception. But Catholic practice in both these areas is barely distinguishable from the rest of society.
About the Ruth Institute
The Ruth Institute is a global non-profit organization, leading an international interfaith coalition to defend the family and build a civilization of love.
Jennifer Roback Morse has a Ph.D. in economics and has taught at Yale and George Mason University. She is the author of The Sexual State and Love and Economics – It Takes a Family to Raise a Village.
To schedule an interview with Dr. Morse, contact media@ruthinstitute.org.
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Thanks Jennifer, you have confirmed what I have been saying from day one of his pontificate. He has not changed a single bit of church doctrine, but it is obvious that his actions and pronouncements have been part of a scheme to deliberately confuse the faithful through cooperative media and clergy. We should continue to respect and pray for the office of pope, while acknowldging that the present occupant is not a fit leader by any measure.
Church teaching was changed even under John XXIII re- religious liberty (as opposed to toleration of religious error). Francis is just the logical trajectory of the principles contained in the Vatican II documents, & has even done less destruction to all things Catholic than “Saint” Paul VI, groomed from his early years to be the great destroyer of Catholic Tradition. See Novus Ordo Watch & White Smoke 1958 websites for more on how we got to this point in the Great Apostasy & what Our Lady of La Salette foretold as the “eclipse” of the Church.
Fully agree Eric, Pope Francis represents the only Pope we have encountered in our 8o plus years that leaves us bewildered about Catholic Teaching relating to Human Sexuality. Many thanks to Dr Jennifer Roback Morse for sharing your insightful knowledge on Catholic Teaching.
Love your wonderful integrity and love that you dare to expend out of informed , honest love. The key points I understand with Fiducia Supplicans are a solid and clear guidance for the church and priests in particular which asserts God’s love and call to all and His willingness to help all of us sinners, while also very clearly pointing out the simple sanity and goodness of traditional Catholic doctrine on marriage. The timing seems to be directed at the practice in Germany and deals specifically with the problem of the homosexual “couple”. I don’t have a problem with FS at all and it was a foregone conclusion that any doctrine would be abused by some as Fr. Martin seems to have done. May God bless our holy father and our church.