Pope Francis responds to "Dubia" submitted by five cardinals

The Holy Father on Monday lengthily responded to questions or doubts called “dubia” presented by five Cardinals, according to the website of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The questions are about the interpretation of Divine Revelation, the blessing of same-sex unions, synodality as a constitutive dimension of the Church, the priestly ordination of women, and repentance as a necessary condition for sacramental absolution.

These were sent to him last July by Cardinals Walter Brandmüller and Raymond Leo Burke supported by three other Cardinals, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, Robert Sarah, and Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, according to the Vatican News.

The questions were in Italian and Pope Francis responded in Spanish, with provisional English from the Vatican News.

The 9-page response highlighted the following: 

The dubium regarding the assertion that the Divine Revelation should be reinterpreted based on current cultural and anthropological changes, said the Pope.

 The dubium regarding the assertion that the widespread practice of blessing same-sex unions is in accordance with Revelation and the Magisterium.

 The dubium regarding the assertion that synodality is a "constitutive dimension of the Church" (Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis communio, such that the Church is by nature synodal.

The dubium regarding the support of pastors and theologians for the theory that "the theology of the Church has changed," and thus, the sacramental ordination of women can be conferred.

The dubium regarding the assertion that "forgiveness is a human right" and the insistence of the Holy Father on the duty to absolve everyone always, so that repentance is not a necessary condition for sacramental absolution. - Madonna T. Virola