Pope Leo XIV Seeks to Revive Talks with Coptic Orthodox After Breakdown Over “Fiducia Supplicans”

But efforts to restore dialogue may hinge on the Holy Father’s response to Synod Study Group No. 9’s final report on homosexuality.

(Pope Leo XIV speaking with clergy of the Coptic Orthodox Church at the end of a General Audience. Photo: Vatican Media)

VATICAN CITY, 15 May 2026 — Pope Leo XIV today appealed for a revival of dialogue with the Coptic Orthodox Church after a rupture in March 2024 over Fiducia Supplicans, the Vatican declaration permitting blessings for same-sex couples.

Yet in communications released on Friday, neither the Pope nor the Vatican acknowledged that the document itself had prompted the Copts to suspend ecumenical talks with Rome.

In a telephone conversation with His Holiness Tawadros II of Alexandria, Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, Pope Leo spoke in conciliatory terms. According to the Vatican, the discussion took place in a “cordial and fraternal atmosphere,” with both sides expressing a desire to give “new impetus” to the annual Day of Friendship between Copts and Catholics and to overcome “any obstacles to dialogue based on faith and charity.” The call also reflected awareness of a shared responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel and promoting peace and reconciliation, particularly in the Middle East.

The Vatican readout made no reference to Fiducia Supplicans — the December 2023 decree which led the Coptic Orthodox Holy Synod in March 2024 to suspend theological dialogue with the Holy See.

From the moment of its release, the decree sparked sharp criticism from the Orthodox world. Three days after its release, Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest and Hungary said his initial reaction was one of “shock.” He described the Roman Catholic Church as long regarded as a “beacon of traditional Christianity” and warned that such documents risked creating “new divisions” and making fruitful dialogue “more difficult.”

In January 2024, Cardinal Kurt Koch, who heads the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, acknowledged that Fiducia Supplicans had provoked “negative reactions” among the Orthodox. He also revealed that he had written to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, requesting clarification amid the growing concern.

When the Coptic Holy Synod formally announced the suspension of dialogue two months later, its statement stopped short of explicitly naming the decree. But the bishops simultaneously reaffirmed the Church’s rejection of homosexual relationships and condemned any blessing of such unions as “a blessing for sin.” In a subsequent video statement, the Coptic spokesman Father Moussa Ibrahim removed any remaining ambiguity, describing the suspension as a response to Rome’s “change of position on the issue of homosexuality.”

In response to the fallout, Cardinal Fernández travelled to Cairo in May 2024 to meet Tawadros II, where he sought to clarify the Vatican’s position, stressing that Fiducia Supplicans did not authorize blessings of unions themselves, but of individuals seeking pastoral support. The meeting formed part of wider Vatican efforts to preserve fragile ecumenical ties and limit Orthodox criticism.

Now, less than a year into his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV is making overtures towards renewed discussions, but without reopening the controversy in public.

“This pilgrimage of friendship has enabled our Churches, separated by centuries of misunderstanding, to engage in a highly fruitful theological dialogue,” the Pope wrote to Tawadros II in a letter released on Friday marking the annual Day of Friendship. 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.”

Not surprisingly, given the occasion it commemorated, the letter contained no reference to the reasons for the breakdown in relations, nor did it include any renewed defense of Fiducia Supplicans.

The suspension of talks between Rome and the Coptic Orthodox marked a significant setback in relations that had developed steadily since the 1970s, when formal dialogue was first established under Pope Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III. As recently as 2023, relations appeared to be improving markedly: the Holy See permitted the Coptic Orthodox to celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome, and Pope Francis added twenty-one Coptic martyrs killed by Islamic State in Libya to the Roman Martyrology.

The annual Day of Friendship between Copts and Catholics, initiated under Pope Francis at the suggestion of Tawadros II, has since become a recurring symbol of relations between the two Churches. Cardinal Koch attended this year’s meeting, held in Rome on May 10.

In his letter, Pope Leo expressed his hope that, as both Churches celebrate the liturgical feast of Pentecost, “the Holy Spirit, source and bearer of all gifts, will guide Copts and Catholics on our common pilgrimage in truth and charity towards full communion.”

But Pope Leo’s ecumenical outreach to the Coptic Orthodox may face new challenges, following the release earlier this month of the final report on “emerging doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues” by the Synod on Synodality’s Study Group No. 9.

The report — which calls for a “paradigm shift” in the Church’s approach to homosexuality — has received scathing criticism from Catholic prelates and commentators, and includes testimonies from men in same-sex civil relationships who see homosexuality as a “gift from God” and who criticize Courage, canonically approved apostolate for people with same-sex attraction.

Controversy intensified this week after it came to light that Jesuit Father James Martin, a leading “LGBT” advocate, was reported to have played a central role in coordinating the testimonies featured in the report.

Although the General Secretariat of the Synod is seeking to distance itself from the report following the revelations, its general secretary, Cardinal Mario Grech, had initially praised the document as “the synodal method applied to the most demanding situations.”

Pope Leo XIV’s efforts to restore ecumenical dialogue with the Coptic Orthodox Church may therefore hinge on his response to the Study Group No. 9 final report.