The theological eruption caused by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández in early November was entirely predictable and serves to highlight the current sorry state of the office he leads.
It has long appeared to be a practice in Rome that a cleric does not necessarily need to have a natural ability for the role he is brought to the Vatican for. The case of disgraced Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta is a high-profile example. When Zanchetta resigned his see in 2017 in disgrace over the revelations of homosexual predation on seminarians, Pope Francis created a new post for the bishop at the Vatican, defending the bishop for the next two years.
It has also been the case with Father Marko Rupnik, whose art and mosaics have adorned the walls of the great and the good around Rome, whilst reports of his abuse of nuns were downplayed by relevant superiors. Never mind the alleged serial abuse and the intimate link between that and his art, Rupnik was the in-demand artist of the season, and what a long season he has had.
Since 2023, the Church has seen something similar with Cardinal Fernández, who was raised to lead the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (now known as DDF) by his longtime friend and mentor Pope Francis. So polemical had Fernández’s past been that the DDF had a file in 2009 outlining concerns about his writings, leading to a precautionary investigation when then-Cardinal Bergoglio named him rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.
In more recent months, some of the more scandalous books from Fernández’s past have emerged, such as his sexually explicit works on kissing and orgasms. So disastrously awkward were they for the cardinal’s public image as new Prefect of the DDF, that they were left out of the biographical information the Vatican released in a failed attempt to erase his past.
His tenure of office at the DDF has been no better than that Argentinian past. Less than six months into the position, Fernández issued Fiducia Supplicans, which came about as close to causing a seismic split and civil war in the Church as has been seen since the Second Vatican Council. So widespread and robust was the criticism of the text that he had to suffer the indignity of one of Pope Francis’ close advisors, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, arranging an ‘opt-out’ clause from Fiducia Supplicans for Africa. This was done by meeting Francis and Fernández in person.
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