Just in the past week, we’ve seen scandals erupt in Spain, where two Catholic men held what appeared to be a well-attended wedding in a private Catholic chapel, and in Uruguay, where the local bishop and even the country’s apostolic nuncio approved the blessing of a high-profile same-sex couple that received extensive media coverage, even though the Vatican’s document says these blessings are supposed to be simple and “spontaneous.”

Now, a Vatican editorial is further muddying the Fiducia waters.

Written by Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, the editorial tries to make the case that a document on prayers for the sick that then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger issued in 2000 during John Paul II’s pontificate established a precedent for distinguishing between liturgical and non-liturgical blessings. That distinction lies at the core of Fiducia Supplicans. ...

Our Church needs that kind of clear, unequivocal approach to the predicament we now face. Nothing less can maintain the unity of faith that St. Thomas Aquinas dedicated his life and massive intellect to safeguarding.