She said she doubts the bishops in her day had “true understanding of what human relationships were”, accusing them of “draconian” decisions.
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Pope Francis released Friday his long-awaited treatise on family life, emphasizing the Church’s need for compassion and humility for those who fail to adhere to the standard of marriage extolled in the Bible.
The pope’s top USA adviser, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, said the document is complex and deserves careful study.
The apostolic exhortation says that a “breach of the marriage bond” is “against the will of God”. That’s an official statement from a pope urging Catholics to behave in a particular way.
“There are no changes in doctrine in this document, and in fact the pope urges the church not to step away from proposing the full ideal of marriage”, Cupich said. About 42 percent of marriages in England and Wales ended in divorce in 2013, according to an estimate by the UK Office for National Statistics.
Cuff agreed with the pope’s proclamation that the church should be more flexible when it comes to divorced and remarried couples.
“He has ignored submissions and appeals by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics”, said Peter Tatchell, a British gay rights advocate.
Rejection by the church was traumatic for many divorced Catholics.
Mr Kelly said that the Pope is asking Catholics to be “the merciful face of Christ in the world”.
“It’s a very tricky thing”, Brumley said. “Generally, I think priests are pretty good about offering their time and experience and sitting down and talking”.
Presidential candidates including Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and Republican Mitt Romney in 2012 made tours of foreign capitals to respond to criticism of inexperience though in both cases they traveled to multiple countries and waited until after they had clinched their party’s nominations. He developed a program to help them recover, now writes a blog at VinceFrese.com, founded a divorced Catholic ministry at his parish, and co-wrote the book “Divorced”.
“The Pope has given us a love letter – a love letter to families”, said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a Friday press conference.
In the past he has suggested that annulment should be obtained by the church without fee.
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Minnesota Catholics say that may be one of the biggest consequences of the pope’s “exhortation” – namely the clear directive that religious leaders should better tie their “individual conscience” with Catholic doctrine when addressing the complexities of modern families.
