Victor Manuel Fernández Appointed to Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
What Will It Mean for Catholic Theology?
Late last week, Pope Francis appointed Victor Manuel Fernández, the Archbishop of La Plata in Argentina, as the new Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). Fernández replaces Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, who is retiring at the age of 79 after completing a five-year term as head of the Dicastery.
Pope Francis reformed the Dicastery, formerly the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, last year in the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, as part of a broader overhaul of the Roman Curia. The DDF now consists of two sections, the Doctrinal and the Disciplinary, each headed by a secretary. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had long been considered the principal curial office in the Vatican, but Praedicate Evangelium gives pride of place to the Dicastery for Evangelization, formed through a merger of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.
The appointment of Fernández is of particular interest to theologians because, as noted in Praedicate Evangelium, the DDF, and especially the Doctrinal Section:
[E]ncourages and supports study and reflection on the understanding of faith and morals and the progress of theology in different cultures in the light of sound doctrine and contemporary challenges, in order to offer a response, in light of the faith, to the questions and arguments arising from scientific advances and cultural developments.
Ever since Pope Paul VI established the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1965, it has been best known for statements, or “notifications,” critical of the work of theologians such as Charles Curran, Leonardo Boff, Jacques Dupuis, and Margaret Farley, among others, and documents clarifying magisterial teaching on a number of controversial moral issues and theological topics like the salvific universality of Jesus Christ (Dominus Iesus) and the vocation of the theologian (Donum Veritatis). The Dicastery is also the home of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission, the latter of which has produced a number of valuable but not well-known documents on a variety of topics. For example, the ITC’s documents on the sensus fidei (2014) and synodality (2018) helped lay the groundwork for the ongoing synodal process and the upcoming Synod on Synodality in October.
In a letter to Fernández upon his appointment, Pope Francis wrote:
The Dicastery over which you will preside in other times came to use immoral methods. Those were times when, rather than promoting theological knowledge, possible doctrinal errors were pursued [the Italian is actually better translated as “persecuted”]. What I expect from you is certainly something very different.
Although these lines have been interpreted by some as a dig at earlier prefects of the CDF, such as Joseph Ratzinger, William Levada, and Gerhard Müller, as I noted in a tweet earlier this week, the language closely mirrors that in Pope Paul VI’s apostolic letter Integrae Servendae, which created the CDF in 1965. Paul notes that the Roman Inquisition, a prior incarnation of the office, was tasked with “the duty of persecuting heresy and consequently of suppressing crimes against the faith, of prohibiting dangerous books and of appointing Inquisitors for the whole Church,” but today, “because there is no fear in love (1 Jn 4:18), the defense of the faith is now better served by promoting doctrine, in such a way that, while errors stand corrected and those who err are gently called back to the truth, heralds of the Gospel may find new strength.” Of course, one could still make the case that the CDF has not always lived up to the ideals set by Paul VI, or more recently those of Pope Francis in Praedicate Evangelium, but that does not appear to be the point Pope Francis is making.
Fernández is an intriguing choice for prefect. He is perhaps best known, outside of Argentina, as a participant in the two synods on the family in 2014 and 2015, where he helped draft the synod’s final document, and for assisting Pope Francis in writing the 2016 apostolic exhortation on the family Amoris Laetitia, which controversially but cautiously opened the door for at least some divorced and remarried persons to receive communion. Fernández has in fact been a longtime collaborator with Pope Francis. For example, Fernández served on the drafting committee of the final document of the Fifth Episcopal Conference of Latin America in Aparecida, Brazil, of which then Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires was chair. Fernández also reportedly helped Francis write his 2013 apostolic letter Evangelii Gaudium, which draws key themes from the Aparecida document. Some reporting also suggests that Fernández helped Francis write Laudato Si’, his 2015 social encyclical, although I would guess his was a more editorial role, since Pope Francis himself stated that Cardinal Peter Turkson and staff at what was then known as the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (now the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development) were the principal drafters of the encyclical.
Fernández is both a pastor and an academic theologian. He was a priest of the rural diocese of Río Cuarto, where he was involved in catechesis, seminary formation, lay formation, and ecumenism. He was a longtime member of the Faculty of Theology at the Universidad Católica Argentina, teaching spirituality, ethics, biblical studies, and psychology. After serving as vice-dean and dean of the Faculty of Theology, he was appointed rector of the university in 2009 and served in that role until 2018, when he was appointed Archbishop of La Plata by Pope Francis. Fernández also served as the president of the Sociedad Argentina de Teología, a professional society of academic theologians.
Fernández’s academic work is quite different from that of past prefects of the Dicastery, focusing on spirituality, the relationship between faith and culture, and biblical exegesis rather than dogmatic theology or ethics. The Vatican provides a partial list of his academic work as part of the announcement of his appointment. It will be interesting to see what direction Fernández takes the Dicastery and what issues he tackles as prefect.
It should also be noted that over the weekend, the U.S.-based group BishopAccountability.org accused Fernández of mishandling a case of sexual abuse as Archbishop of La Plata, specifically of dismissing the testimony of victims of a priest of the archdiocese. Fernández and the archdiocese have since disputed the allegations. Fernández’s record on this issue is particularly important because the Dicastery he now heads is responsible for disciplinary matters in cases of sexual abuse. Oddly, however, in his letter appointing Fernández, Pope Francis suggested that he focus less on disciplinary matters:
Given that for disciplinary matters - especially related to the abuse of minors - a specific Section has recently been created with very competent professionals, I ask you as prefect to dedicate your personal commitment more directly to the main purpose of the Dicastery which is "keeping the faith".
I want to close by also considering the outgoing prefect of the Dicastery, Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S.J. Ladaria has really avoided the limelight during his time as prefect, a stark contrast with his predecessor Gerhard Müller, who was regularly giving interviews, delivering speeches and addresses, and otherwise in the public eye. This contrast is particularly striking considering that Ladaria’s time as prefect was arguably more eventful than Müller’s. Müller had the misfortune of being appointed to the role by Pope Benedict XVI only a year before the latter resigned, and thenceforth serving as doctrinal watchdog for a pope with whom he was clearly uneasy regarding both substance and style. Müller was perhaps best known, during his time as prefect, for his role in the debate over communion for the divorced and remarried at the 2014 and 2015 synods, but during his time as head, the CDF made very few notable decisions or doctrinal statements. Since he was dismissed by Pope Francis in 2017, he has become a bitter critic of the pope.
Ladaria was appointed a consultor to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1995, when it was led by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and in 2004 he was named the secretary-general of the International Theological Commission. Four years later, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Secretary of the CDF, second to its then prefect, Cardinal William Levada. Ladaria then replaced Müller as prefect in 2017. Although his professional rise owed much to Ratzinger/Benedict, Ladaria is usually not considered a Benedict loyalist in the same way Müller is. As I mentioned, he’s kept a low profile regarding church politics, instead focusing on the work of theology.
As prefect, Ladaria led the work on the revision of the Catechism’s teaching on capital punishment, at the prompting of Pope Francis. Under his leadership, the CDF addressed a number of other ethical issues, as well, including the liceity of hysterectomies in certain complex cases and the proper care for the terminally ill. Ladaria also produced the 2020 document making the case that it is morally acceptable to use COVID-19 vaccines even if the research and production process involved the use of cell lines from aborted fetuses. More controversially, he denied that the Church can offer blessings to same-sex unions.
In his prior role as secretary-general of the International Theological Commission, Ladaria was responsible for its document on the salvation of unbaptized infants that rejected the notion of Limbo. The document garnered a lot of press attention at the time because of the unusual nature of the topic, but it truly is an important development in the Church’s thinking on grace and divine providence. Under his leadership, the ITC also produced an important document on the natural law which should be of interest to moral theologians and ethicists.
Ladaria’s personal work as a theologian is in the field of dogmatics. He has written on the Trinity and Christology, as well as books on theological anthropology and original sin. He is also an expert in Patristics, including the work of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
The appointment of Fernández, however, marks a new era at the DDF, and because of his relatively young age for the role—he is only 60 years old—he will hold the position for a long time, barring unforeseen events. It seems almost certain that he will fulfill the role in a way quite unlike any of his predecessors, but what exactly that means, we will have to wait and see.
Of Interest…
Last week I noted the Supreme Court’s decision on race-conscious admissions policies at colleges and universities and the responses of a couple of Catholic university presidents. At America, Michael J. O’Loughlin has a more complete summary of Catholic institutional reactions to the decision.
On Monday, Pope Francis condemned the burning of a Quran in protest in Sweden. This reminded me of David DeCosse’s excellent article from 2010 on Catholic social teaching and free speech, written in the context of the Danish cartoon controversy of 2005-06, involving cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and which explored the complexities of issues of free speech and sacrilege. Also noteworthy: the remarks came in Pope Francis’s first ever interview with an Arabic-language news outlet, the Emirati newspaper Al-Ittihad.
Coming Soon…
I think Window Light has grown enough that it is time to transition to offering paid subscriptions through a tiered system (some content will be available for free, some will only be available to paid subscribers)! You may have noticed that I mentioned this transition was coming in the introductory email you received when you subscribed. My post later this week will provide more information on the transition, including incentives to sign up for a paid subscription during the first month. So stay tuned!