Ghosts of Christmas Past, by Michael Pakaluk

Fiducia supplicans (FS) has been called lots of things.  Among the softer words are “confused,” “ambiguous,” “a mess,” and “self-contradictory.”  Stronger language would include “deceptive” and “incompetent.”

But what about, whatever its merits, “inopportune” or “wrongly timed”?  These might look like the weakest complaints, but maybe they are the strongest.

I mean, on what basis was this “Declaration” issued just one week before Christmas, when Catholics are supposed to be awaiting the Christ Child with all of their hearts?  “Days before Christmas. . .the whole of the Church’s leadership – and much of its clerical class – seemed to have been drawn into controversy,” J.D. Flynn noted in The Pillar.  Many bishops were dismayed, such as Cardinal Daniel Sturla, of Montevideo: “I don’t think it was a topic to be raised now, at Christmas. It caught my attention powerfully, because it is a controversial issue.  It is dividing waters within the Church.” …..