The Bishops' Conference of the North African Region (Cerna) meeting in Rabat, Morocco, Jan. 11-15, approved the Declaration Fiducia supplicans (see here), stipulating, regarding the "pastoral practice of blessings," that it is possible to give the blessing not only individually, but also to people "in an irregular situation" who present themselves together requesting it, provided this "does not create confusion for those concerned themselves or for others." This stance cracked the unanimity that had been created around the communiqué of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, signed by Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, in which the African bishops expressed clear opposition to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández's document (see here).
