Pope Francis declared on Wednesday that divorced Catholics who remarry, as well as their children, deserve better treatment from the church, warning pastors against treating these couples as if they were excommunicated.
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For three weeks in October, church leaders will debate social issues like divorce, same-sex civil unions and single parents. But he insisted on an attitude change in the church.
There’s only one acceptable out aside from becoming a widower.
Rally participants on the steps of St. Basil Catholic Church carry signs.
“They are the ones who suffer the most in these situations”, the pope said. “But it seems like Francis is saying that the church has to be more progressive, it needs to be more practical and it needs to be more compassionate”.
“Though their unions are contrary to the sacrament of marriage, the church, as a mother, seeks the good and salvation of all her children”, he said.
Remarried Catholics hoped a similar meeting held earlier this year would result in the communion ban being lifted.
It’s a move that German Cardinal Walter Kasper has been championing, albeit after divorcees undergo a hiatus for repentance.
Progressive bishops have been pushing for change and Francis has been dropping hints that he too favors more accommodation and wants the synod to come up with proposals.
October’s synod comes after a year of consultations.
All three have been invited to a special audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican this coming fall.
PR problem: Pope Francis reportedly has invited the Hollywood heavyweights to discuss ways to improve the portrayal of the Catholic Church in Western media.
“They absolutely must not be treated that way”.
The Pope will write some form of authoritative statement based on these discussions to help clergy properly conduct themselves.
Francis himself has not endorsed any particular proposal, and in focusing on the topic on Wednesday he reiterated that “there is no easy solution for these situations”.
“The Holy Father is trying to counter, trying to debunk a common myth in the life of the church and that is that divorced Catholics are excommunicated, which is not true”, Clark said. Some have even called children from second marriages “bastards”. Church rules now prohibit the children of couples in irregular marriages from being baptized. “Popeapalooza 2016? What do you say, guys?”
CIDSE, an alliance of organisations from all over Europe and North America, has launched a campaign urging people to reduce their reliance on fossil fuel energies, curb their meat-intake and purchase from organic, locally-grown sources, among a string of other directives. Grounds for annulment include refusal by a spouse to have children.
It’s actually quite surprising that Pope Francis is going to such lengths to try and work with several elite members of Hollywood. “Everyone can share in some way in the life of the church; everyone can be part of the community”.
“To date, it hasn’t cashed out into specific changes in Church teaching”, Dadosky says. While CIDSE may have fallen into line with official policy, it remains to be seen whether the 1.2 billion Catholics across the world will do the same.
The pope’s words were greeted with what was described as thunderous applause.
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This isn’t the first time Francis has spoken in favor of greater flexibility with regards to interpretation of the Christian doctrine.
