VaticanNews portal reports (May 6, 2026) that Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, clarified to Bishop Stephan Ackermann that the November 2024 letter rejecting the German bishops’ draft vademecum on blessings for extramarital unions also applies to the definitively approved 2025 text, “Blessing Strengthens Love.” The Cardinal stated this letter was “the one and only final response,” emphasizing that the current vademecum lacks Dicastery approval because it proposes “a kind of liturgy or para-liturgical ritual” not permitted by Fiducia Supplicans. Pope Leo XIV, on his return flight from Equatorial Guinea (April 23, 2026), reiterated that the Holy See “does not agree with the formalized blessing of couples, in this case, homosexual couples… beyond what was specifically… allowed for by Pope Francis.” This entire episode exposes the neo-church’s relentless drive to normalize sexual perversion, even while feigning adherence to its own compromised “declaration.”
The Unfolding Scandal: A Neo-Church Divided Against Itself
The reported clarification by Cardinal Fernández regarding the German bishops’ vademecum, “Blessing Strengthens Love,” merely underscores the profound moral and doctrinal chaos within the conciliar sect. While the Cardinal and the usurper Leo XIV attempt to draw a line against “formalized blessings” for homosexual couples, their entire framework remains built upon the rotten foundation of Fiducia Supplicans itself. This declaration, issued by the apostate Jorge Mario Bergoglio in December 2023, already represented a catastrophic rupture with two millennia of Catholic teaching and pastoral practice. It permitted “spontaneous blessings” for couples in “irregular situations,” including those engaged in homosexual acts, thereby creating a climate of moral confusion and scandal that the German “bishops” are now exploiting to push for even more explicit liturgical endorsement of perversion.
The very fact that the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) would draft and approve a vademecum proposing “a kind of liturgy or para-liturgical ritual” for such blessings demonstrates their complete abandonment of Catholic orthodoxy. This is not a misunderstanding; it is a deliberate, systematic effort to dismantle the Church’s immutable moral doctrine and replace it with a humanistic, secular ethos that caters to the most depraved inclinations of fallen nature. Their actions are a direct consequence of the modernist principles condemned by Saint Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis and Lamentabili Sane Exitu, which sought to subordinate divine revelation to the ever-changing dictates of human experience and “progress.”
The Theological Bankruptcy of “Blessings” for Sin
From the perspective of integral Catholic faith, the entire discussion surrounding “blessings” for extramarital unions, especially those involving homosexual acts, is an abomination. The Church has always taught, unequivocally and without exception, that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to the natural law.” They are sins that “cry out to heaven for vengeance” and are gravely detrimental to the individuals involved and to society at large. The Catechism of the Council of Trent, the consistent teaching of the Roman Pontiffs, and the clear testimony of Sacred Scripture (Genesis 19:1-29; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:10) condemn these acts in the strongest possible terms.
To speak of “blessing” such unions, even “spontaneously” or in a “non-formalized” manner, is to participate in a lie. A blessing, in Catholic theology, is an invocation of God’s favor and grace upon a person, object, or action that is good and pleasing to Him. It is absurd and blasphemous to invoke God’s favor upon a state of life that is objectively sinful and contrary to His divine law. As Pope Pius XI stated in his encyclical Casti Connubii (1930), “the blessing of God is not upon those who do iniquity” (Psalm 11:5). The very concept of a “blessing” for a homosexual union implies a divine sanction of that which God condemns, thereby making God an accomplice to sin.
The distinction attempted by Fiducia Supplicans and reiterated by Leo XIV between “formalized” and “spontaneous” blessings is a modernist fiction, a distinction without a difference in terms of its underlying moral perversion. Both imply a recognition and a tacit approval of the sinful state. The Church’s duty is not to “bless” sin, but to call sinners to repentance and conversion, offering them the means of grace through the sacraments – particularly Confession and Holy Communion – which require a firm purpose of amendment and a resolve to sin no more.
The German Bishops: Heretics and Apostates in Action
The actions of the German bishops, particularly Bishop Stephan Ackermann and the DBK, are not merely imprudent or misguided; they are manifestly heretical and schismatic in spirit, if not yet in formal declaration. By persistently pushing for liturgical recognition of homosexual unions, they are publicly defying the clear teaching of the Magisterium and leading countless souls into perdition. Their vademecum is a direct assault on the sanctity of marriage and the family, institutions ordained by God Himself for the procreation and education of children and the mutual sanctification of spouses.
This “Synodal Path” in Germany, which has produced such fruits, is a direct outgrowth of the conciliar revolution. It embodies the very errors condemned by Pope Pius IX in the Syllabus of Errors, particularly those related to the denial of the Church’s authority in matters of faith and morals, and the subordination of divine law to secular opinion. The German bishops, by their actions, demonstrate that they are not successors of the Apostles, but rather agents of the world, the flesh, and the devil, working to dismantle the Church from within.
Their defiance, even in the face of “clarifications” from the usurper Leo XIV, highlights the utter lack of genuine hierarchical communion within the neo-church. It is a babel of conflicting voices, all claiming authority, yet none possessing the true authority of Christ’s Church. This is the inevitable consequence of the novus ordo ecclesiae, which replaced the divinely instituted hierarchical structure with a democratic, collegial model that is inherently susceptible to the whims of popular opinion and secular pressure.
The Usurper Leo XIV and the Illusion of Orthodoxy
The statements attributed to “Pope” Leo XIV, while seemingly critical of the German bishops’ excesses, are ultimately hollow and deceptive. He merely reiterates the flawed premise of Fiducia Supplicans, which itself was a betrayal of Catholic doctrine. His distinction between what “Pope Francis” allowed and what the Germans seek is a distinction within a fundamental error. For Leo XIV to claim that the Holy See “does not agree with the formalized blessing of couples… beyond what was specifically… allowed for by Pope Francis” is to implicitly endorse the initial, catastrophic permission granted by Bergoglio.
Leo XIV, as a product and perpetuator of the conciliar sect, lacks the authority and the will to truly condemn these evils. His “clarifications” are merely attempts to manage the crisis, to maintain a semblance of unity within a deeply fractured and apostate institution. He cannot, and will not, return to the immutable Catholic doctrine because his very position is built upon the rejection of that doctrine. He is a usurper on Peter’s throne, and his words, however seemingly orthodox on certain points, are ultimately designed to preserve the structures of the neo-church, not to restore the true Church.
The true Church of Christ, the Ark of Salvation, endures in the faithful who profess the integral Catholic faith, who reject the modernist errors of Vatican II and its aftermath, and who seek the sacraments from validly ordained priests who adhere to the unchanging Magisterium. These faithful understand that peace is only possible in the kingdom of Christ (Pius XI, encyclical Quas Primas), and that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, nor can it be reconciled with the sins of the world.
The Primacy of God’s Law and the Call to Repentance
The entire episode surrounding the German vademecum is a stark reminder of the absolute primacy of God’s law over every human law, every human convention, and every human desire. The Church’s mission is not to adapt its doctrine to the prevailing winds of secular culture, but to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, regardless of the cost. As Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself declared, “If the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated me before you. If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19).
The duty of every Catholic, especially those in positions of authority, is to condemn sin unequivocally and to call all sinners to repentance. This includes those engaged in homosexual acts, who must be treated with charity but whose actions must never be condoned or “blessed.” The Church’s pastoral care for such individuals consists in leading them to conversion, to a life of chastity according to their state, and to the fullness of Catholic truth. To do otherwise is to betray their souls and to participate in the destruction of Christian civilization.
The German bishops, and indeed the entire conciliar hierarchy, have chosen the path of apostasy. They have embraced the spirit of the age, which is the spirit of Antichrist. Their “Synodal Path” leads not to renewal, but to utter spiritual ruin. The faithful must pray for the true restoration of the Church, for the conversion of sinners, and for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which will ultimately crush the head of the serpent and re-establish the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King.
Source:
DDF responds to vademecum on blessings in Germany (vaticannews.va)
Date: 06.05.2026