Posted on 04/25/2014 2:27:25 PM PDT by Pyro7480
Pope Francis on April 25 stressed the need for bishops and priests to give a “consistent witness” to Christian moral teaching, including the lifelong nature of Christian marriage, and to teach these truths “with great compassion.”
“The holiness and indissolubility of Christian matrimony, often disintegrating under tremendous pressure from the secular world, must be deepened by clear doctrine and supported by the witness of committed married couples,” Pope Francis said.
“Christian matrimony is a lifelong covenant of love between one man and one woman; it entails real sacrifices in order to turn away from illusory notions of sexual freedom and in order to foster conjugal fidelity.”
The Pope’s remarks came in a meeting with bishops from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland...Vatican Radio reports....
Pope Francis’ comments follow media reports about the contents of a recent phone call he allegedly made to a remarried divorced woman in Argentina. The woman claimed that the Pope told her she could receive Holy Communion.
Catholic teaching recognizes the nature of matrimony as indissoluble, so a new marriage can only be contracted if the first union was found to be invalid. Those who have entered a new union without a recognition of annulment may not be admitted to Communion.
On April 24, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that the media coverage of the woman cannot be confirmed as reliable and is “a source of misunderstanding and confusion.”
In his comments to the southern African bishops, Pope Francis also noted the damage caused by abortion and an attitude of disrespect for life.
“Abortion compounds the grief of many women who now carry with them deep physical and spiritual wounds after succumbing to the pressures of a secular culture which devalues God’s gift of sexuality and the right to life of the unborn,” he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...
Catholic ping!
“Catholic teaching recognizes the nature of matrimony as indissoluble, so a new marriage can only be contracted if the first union was found to be invalid. Those who have entered a new union without a recognition of annulment may not be admitted to Communion.”
As a Catholic who has been married for going on 46 years, I agree with this. However, I don’t think it’s up to the Church to recognize the annulment. The Church can investigate all it wants, but only the parties themselves know what was in their mind when they took the vows.
If one or both of them feel that it was not Sacramental, then it wasn’t... It would make no sense for them to just make it up.
Make up your mind, LOL!
Seriously. I’m getting whiplash.
It is absolutely up to the Church to discern whether a marriage is sacramentally valid, because custody of the sacraments is entrusted to the Church. When a man and women ask for a Catholic wedding, they are asking not just for a legal formality, but that their marriage be recognized as a sacrament of Christ’s union with his spouse the Church. In applying to be so recognized, they submit themselves to the discipline of the Church. Those who wish only to contract a natural marriage can do so without assistance of the Church. The Church does not unreasonably or arbitrarily deny her children in such requests, but it’s for her to cooperate with them in discerning their proper disposition.
Not much coverage, I’m sure. This is just a little face-saving CYA by Francis’s staff, slipped in at the end of the news cycle when all the journalists are out pre-filing their JPII we-luv-U stories.
Again, Francis has shown himself to be undisciplined, arbitrary, reckless, and possessed of a towering ego. It must be a nightmare working for that man.
This is not contradictory. This homily does not address the communion issue.
Bravo!
It really has nothing to do with the couple asking for a “Catholic” wedding. It can be a Baptist, Jewish, or an Assembly of God wedding. Unless it is annulled by a Catholic marriage trial before a tribunal the individual can not marry in the church even if they have converted to Catholicism after the divorce.
“It is absolutely up to the Church to discern whether a marriage is sacramentally valid, because custody of the sacraments is entrusted to the Church.”
I totally disagree. I was married in the Catholic church in the sixties. We had to attend classes that didn’t amount to anything other than a social gathering. Nothing serious discussed... The priest didn’t even discuss family planning (or lack of it).
The “Church” didn’t take it seriously and neither did the brides and grooms.
At that time and place, there were no valid sacramental marriages in my opinion. That part of it was a farce.
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I’m getting to really detest this Pope.
Actually their families and friends can usually provide some insight, as well. Folks in 'love' will ignore red flags sometimes, where their friend can see them, but either won't say anything, or are ignored or shunned when they try to say it. Marriage tribunals interview lots of folks when they're investigating a case.
It will get lost in all the pre-St. John Paul II/St. John XXIII news reports in no time.
SuziQ I respect your opinion... However, we’ve had an annulment in our extended family, and the spouse was not even contacted. Nor were the sisters or the brother in laws. And I was the best man at their wedding... Not only that, they renewed their vows after being married 30 years.
I’ve been married for almost 46 years. Married in the church... And will be till “death do us part”. My marriage, however, wasn’t a valid Sacramental marriage. I know that and God knows that. A tribunal never would...
“Again, Francis has shown himself to be undisciplined, arbitrary, reckless, and possessed of a towering ego. It must be a nightmare working for that man.”
“Bravo!”
You weren’t satisfied when the woman said the Pope told her she could receive Communion. Now, you’re not satisfied when the Pope says that if it was a religious marriage with both parties baptized and planning to stay married for life, she CANNOT get divorced and receive Communion.
NO ONE, neither you nor I know what the divorced woman told the Pope.
Obviously, nothing the Pope does will please you.
The Catholic process of annulments is often seen as harsh. The opposite is actually true. If the Church were truly harsh it would just say: “You made your vows before God and public witnesses so live with it. There is nothing we can do.” Instead, it makes a good faith effort to see if there is some reason to declare that there was a defect at the time of the wedding in order to declare that the marriage was invalid. This is a pastoral response.
And no, it cannot just be up the the couple. We are all sinners and the temptation to lie, to others or even to oneself, is just too great. And there is also the question of the rights of the other party and of the children. As difficult as the annulment process is, other than saying that public vows can never be repudiated, it is the only just option.
The Pope knows and he aint' talking. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. If she lied, it's up to the Pope to make the record straight.
“We are all sinners and the temptation to lie, to others or even to oneself, is just too great.”
Why the heck would one lie so that they could receive communion? That doesn’t make any sense. That would be akin to lying in confession...
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