VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has appealed for restored dialogue with the Coptic Orthodox Church after ecumenical relations deteriorated following the publication of Fiducia Supplicans, Pope Francis’ declaration introducing “blessings” for same-sex “relationships.”
On May 15, Pope Leo urged a renewal of theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church during a telephone conversation and an exchange of messages with Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II of Alexandria, more than two years after relations were disrupted over Fiducia Supplicans.
According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the Pope and Tawadros II spoke in a “cordial and fraternal atmosphere” and expressed a shared desire to strengthen cooperation between the two Churches, revive the annual Day of Friendship between Copts and Catholics, and overcome barriers to dialogue through “faith and charity.”
The telephone call follows an earlier public letter to Tawadros II, in which Leo wrote: “This pilgrimage of friendship has enabled our Churches, separated by centuries of misunderstanding, to engage in a highly fruitful theological dialogue.” Referring to the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, he added, “It is my hope that this Commission … may resume its work as soon as possible with all Churches of the Oriental Orthodox family.”
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Neither the Vatican’s summary of the telephone conversation nor the Pope’s letter explicitly mentioned Fiducia Supplicans, the December 2023 declaration issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith which authorized non-liturgical “blessings” for couples in “irregular unions,” including of the same sex. The document provoked strong reactions across the Orthodox world and led the Coptic Orthodox Holy Synod in March 2024 to suspend theological dialogue with Rome.
Vatican journalist Diane Montagna noted that, at that time, the Coptic Holy Synod issued a statement reaffirming its rejection of homosexual “relationships” and condemning blessings of such unions as “a blessing for sin.” Although the statement did not directly cite Fiducia Supplicans, Coptic Orthodox spokesman Father Moussa Ibrahim later stated in a video message that the suspension had come in response to Rome’s “change of position on the issue of homosexuality.”
Opposition to the Vatican declaration also emerged from other Orthodox leaders. Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest and Hungary said shortly after the text’s publication that his first reaction had been one of “shock.” He warned that such initiatives could create “new divisions” and complicate theological dialogue between Rome and the Orthodox Churches.
On January 21, 2024, Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, publicly acknowledged that the declaration had generated “negative reactions” among Orthodox Christians and disclosed that he had written to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, requesting clarification as criticism intensified.
Montagna also noted the Vatican’s subsequent attempt to limit the damage to ecumenical relations. In May 2024, Fernández travelled to Cairo to meet Tawadros II, telling him that Fiducia Supplicans did not authorize blessings of same-sex unions themselves, but rather blessings for individuals seeking pastoral assistance.
However, the text of the declaration speaks of the “blessing of couples” and has never been revised, despite Fernández’s alleged clarifying remarks.
Pope Leo’s latest outreach to the Coptic Orthodox Church appears aimed at reopening channels of communication without publicly revisiting the controversy surrounding Fiducia Supplicans. In his May 4 letter to the patriarch, the Pope also expressed hope that reflections connected to the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea would contribute to the pursuit of the “visible unity of the Church.”
The Pope’s engagement with the Copts reflects the ecumenical line of his apostolic letter, In Unitate Fidei, which urges setting aside theological disputes perceived as “outdated” and seeking unity on the basis of the “original” Christian Creed, without the “Filioque” – a theological profession of faith in the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son.
Yet major divisions remain: the Coptic Church rejects the Filioque, papal supremacy, several councils of the Catholic Church, and a slew of Catholic dogmas. Since the Filioque is a core doctrinal point reaffirmed by councils like Lyons II and Florence, critics have warned that Pope Leo’s language risks minimizing meaningful theological differences.
The Pope further stated that Christians, particularly amid conflicts in the Middle East, must strive for greater unity in order to “bear witness together to the Prince of Peace.” He concluded by praying that the Holy Spirit would guide Catholics and Copts “towards full communion.”
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In 2023, the Holy See permitted the Coptic Orthodox Church to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome, and Pope Francis added 21 Coptic Christians murdered by the Islamic State in Libya to the Roman Martyrology.
At the same time, new tensions may complicate Pope Leo’s efforts to restore theological dialogue. Earlier this month, the Synod on Synodality’s Study Group 9 released its Final Report on what it described as “emerging ethical issues.” The document proposed what it called a “paradigm shift” in the Church’s pastoral approach to homosexuality and included testimonies from men in same-sex “marriages” who described homosexuality as a “gift from God.”
The Study Group 9 report also criticized Courage, a canonically recognized Catholic organization assisting persons with same-sex attraction to live in accordance with Church teaching. Additional controversy followed reports that Jesuit Father James Martin had played a significant role in organizing testimonies included in the final part of the document.
Although the General Secretariat of the Synod later attempted to distance itself from aspects of the report, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod, had initially praised it as an example of the “synodal method.”