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1 Page 1 of 6 Home» News» Vatican No doctrine change from Pope Francis but a call for better pastoral care 11K 2 11K Free newsletter Subscribe Pope Francis at the Divine Mercy Vigil in St. Peter's Square, April 2, Credit: L'Osservatore Romano. 11K Vatican City, Apr 8, 2016 / 04:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholics who have divorced-and-remarried need the fullness of Church teaching. They also need a wise pastoral and community response to their difficulties that can help them grow in the Christian life, Pope Francis said on Friday in his new document on love in the family. Recent activity: Everyone Friends Me Recent user activity on Catholic News Agency: Follow us: Phil - Comment: Bernie Sanders, 'a big fan' of Pope Francis, to attend Vatican confere less than an hour ago Bernardo Abduel - Comment: Bernie Sanders, 'a big fan' of Pope Francis, to attend Vatican confere less than an hour ago James B - Comment: N d t i h f P Your CNA account Login with your social network: 2 11K The Church s pastors, in proposing to the faithful the full ideal of the Gospel and the Church s teaching, must also help them to treat the weak with compassion, avoiding aggravation or unduly harsh or hasty judgements, the Pope said in Amoris Laetitia. Pope Francis highly anticipated post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the gifts and challenges of family life was published April 8. Or login here using your Don't have an account? Register here Titled Amoris Laetitia, or The Joy of Love, the document was presented to journalists in Italian, French, English, German, Spanish and Portuguese. Signed March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, the release of the document was delayed in order to allow time for its translation into other languages. The apostolic exhortation is the conclusion of a two-year synod process discussing both the beauty and challenges of family life today. Hosted at the Vatican in 2014 and 2015, these synods gathered hundreds of bishops from around the world.

2 Page 2 of 6 broader, with synod fathers touching on themes such as domestic violence, incest and abuse within families, and marriage preparation. Pope Francis acknowledged the attention generated by the synods, saying, The debates carried on in the media, in certain publications and even among the Church s ministers, range from an immoderate desire for total change without suf ficient reflection or grounding, to an attitude that would solve everything by applying general rules or deriving undue conclusions from particular theological considerations. The wide-ranging document Get Sunday Paper included Biblical reflections on Coupons family, as well as discussion of the family as a place of faith Don't Buy the Paper for and labor, celebration and Coupons. Get Sunday tears. The Pope spoke about Coupons & Savings App! sexuality within marriage and on the sometimes devastating effects of poverty and migration on families. He also touched on the importance of communication within the family, the challenges of raising children in a technology-saturated world, and the witness of virginity. Sucks Born before 1969? You can get an extra $4,098 monthly with this Catholic News Agency Polls LockerDome Catholic News Agency Polls 1of13 1of13 poll How did you first hear of Mother Angelica? Always a charismatic speaker, Mother Angelica used her wit and technological savvy to found what would become the wor... Pope Francis devoted a substantial section of the document to the topic of educating children, observing, The family is thus the place where parents become their children s first teachers in the faith. He also offered suggestions for improving marriage preparation programs, inviting engaged couples to consider a simple wedding and to set aside technological distractions. In a world where many have lost respect for marriage and are delaying the union or choosing cohabitation instead, the Church must speak up, Pope Francis said. poll Which soon-to-be saint are you most excited about? The Vatican announced that 5 new saints will be canonized this year. They are Mother Trending: As Christians, we can hardly stop advocating marriage simply to avoid countering contemporary sensibilities, or out of a desire to be fashionable or a sense of helplessness in the face of human and moral failings, he reflected. We would be depriving the world of values that we can and must offer. At the same time, he said, there is no sense in simply decrying presentday evils, as if this could change things. Nor it is helpful to try to impose rules by sheer authority. What we need is a more responsible and generous effort to present the reasons and motivations for choosing marriage and the family, and in this way to help men and women better to respond to the grace that God offers them. No doctrine change from Pope Francis but a call for better pastoral care Pope Francis praised the indissolubility of marriage, saying that it should not be viewed as a yoke imposed on humanity, but as a gift

3 Page 3 of 6 News Resources In addition, Tools he said Columns that divorced Documents people who Mama have Needs not Coffee remarried, CNA Blog and often bear witness to marital fidelity, ought to be encouraged to find in the Eucharist the nourishment they need to sustain them in their present state of life. In the document s introduction, Pope Francis wrote that everyone should feel challenged by Chapter Eight, which is titled Accompanying, Discerning and Integrating Weakness. The blessing of a lifetime: 5-year-old girl going blind meets Pope Francis That chapter, which describes the Church as a field hospital, discusses the pastoral care of the divorced-and-civilly-remarried, as well as those who cohabit and face other irregularities. Pope Francis wrote that it is a matter of reaching out to everyone, of needing to help each person find his or her proper way of participating in the ecclesial community. He emphasized that the divorced-andremarried can find themselves in a variety of situations and that this variety requires discernment and accompaniment on the part of pastors. The Pope voiced agreement with the Synod Fathers observations that divorced-and-remarried Catholics need to be more fully integrated into Christian communities while avoiding any occasion of scandal. He restated that the divorced-and-remarried are not excommunicated, and quoted the Synod Fathers, who had said that language or conduct that might lead them to feel discriminated against should be avoided. Care for these persons is not a weakening of Christian faith and belief in the indissolubility of marriage, but is rather a particular expression of its charity, he said, again quoting the Synod Fathers. While he affirmed the ideal of sacramental marriage in ministering to those in broken situations, the Pope also rejected a one-size-fits-all approach to individual cases. India's foreign minister reassures bishops that Father Tom is alive How a sketchbook led one Chinese woman to the Catholic faith Considering the immense variety of concrete situations that the divorced-andremarried have put themselves in, he said, it is understandable that neither the Synod nor this Exhortation could be expected to provide a new set of general rules applicable to all cases. Social Security Sucks Born before 1969? You can get an extra $4,098 monthly with this Here's what actually happens when you fight for conscience rights Instead, he said, what is possible is a responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases which would recognize varying degrees of responsibility and therefore varying consequences or effects. This is also the case with admission to the sacraments of Confession and Communion, he said, due to mitigating factors that might reduce a person s culpability. Not just a mother to Catholics - locals reflect on Mother Angelica

4 Page 4 of 6 the rule. A subject may be in a concrete situation which does not allow him or her to act differently and decide otherwise without further sin. Someone in such a situation of objective sin but without full culpability can grow in charity with the help of the Church, and in certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments, he noted. I would also point out that the Eucharist 'is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak', he added, quoting from his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium. The Pope acknowledged the importance of fidelity to the Gospel, saying that To show understanding in the face of exceptional situations never implies dimming the light of the fuller ideal, or proposing less than what Jesus offers to the human being. He called it reductive in discernment merely to consider whether or not an individual's actions correspond to a general law or rule. A pastor cannot feel that it is enough simply to apply moral laws to those living in irregular situations, as if they were stones to throw at people s lives. This would bespeak the closed heart of one used to hiding behind the Church s teachings. Pope Francis professed understanding for those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion. But I sincerely believe that Jesus wants a Church attentive to the goodness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness, a Mother who, while clearly expressing her objective teaching, 'always does what good she can, even if in the process, her shoes get soiled by the mud of the street'. Tags: Family, Catholic News, Pope Francis, Synod on the Family, Amoris Laetitia READ NEXT» Cardinal Schönborn praises 'Amoris Laetitia' stance on gay marriage 11K 2 11K Comments Free newsletter Subscribe Login Write a comment 12 Comments Subscribe RSS James B 2 hours ago Is this article for real? There are holes big enough that you can drive a truck through in this document!

5 Page 5 of 6 0 "No Change in Doctrine"...The euphemism so often used since Vatican II. The reckless use of the "pastoral" divorced (pun intended) from doctrine has become the rule. Pastoral is inextricably united to doctrine. The use of this so-called "internal forum" demonstrates the deliberate ambiguity built in. Don't condemn? That's ironic since you will be condemning souls for sacrilegious communions. M This is a tiring issue, it behooves me to understand Why the divorced-and-remarried are considered some sort of victims since it was their choice. I agree that there are degrees of culpability, but the more a person is educated the more a person becomes culpable. The pastoral approach would be to first educate; then live in complete continence before receiving sacraments. Saint John Paul expresses his concern in Familiaris consortio: "experience unfortunately shows that people who have obtained a divorce usually intend to enter into a new union. Since this is an evil... the problem must be faced with resolution. The Church, which was set up to lead to salvation all people cannot abandon to their own devices those who have been previously bound by sacramental marriage and who have attempted a second marriage." I agree they should not "consider themselves as separated from the Church... [but] if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church's teaching about the indissolubility of marriage." "Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance can only be granted to those who [repent and] are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage. This means [to] live in complete continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married couples." The more the Church emphasizes the indissolubility of marriage, the more divorced people will not attempt to enter into an adulterous second "marriage." When is the last time the Church showed "care" for those never married but want to be married. This is just as heavy a cross Like Reply Share 4 replies 0 Chuck Anziulewicz To say that a divorced and remarried Catholic is no longer eligible to receive Communion, FOREVER, is saying that spiritual redemption is impossible. I find that rather sad. Like Reply Share 1 reply 0 M I never wrote that. It is possible, but perhaps not easy, to live a chaste life. Single people do it all the time. Pope Francis even reflect on this in this document #303 "remain ever open to new stages of growth and to new decisions which can enable the ideal to be more fully realized... but every effort should be made to encourage the development of an enlightened conscience, formed and guided by the responsible and serious discernment..." Kalappura Thomas 3 hours ago I agree. If the divorced and remarried is admitted to Communion, it will mean that absolution of past sins is not necessary and it will give a bad lesson to other believers. Once any relaxation is made in the rules about the sanctity of marriage, there crumbles the edifice of the Institution Like Reply Share 1 reply 0 Paul 3 hours ago Marriage is an institution but it also is a sacrament, given to us by God. Seems to me that's where we get the sanctity. So is it in our power to crumble such an edifice? Maybe, maybe not. Could we intentionally crumble the whole Church when we've been promised the gates of hell will never prevail? And if marriage is one of the seven sacraments of that Church, could we destroy that sacrament? I have to think we could not, and maybe should trust in God and in current Bishop of Rome to guide us through this.

6 Page 6 of 6 Hg Potter To say that Pastoral Practice need not reflect Doctrine IS A CHANGE IN DOCTRINE!!!!! 8 hours ago Like Reply Share 1 reply 1 Paul Is that a straw man? I didn't see where the article or the pope said that pastoral practice need not reflect doctrine. Tadeo Tave 8 hours ago Every one should understand that,the truthiness is within his/herself and not on Pastors decision.the situation of divorce differs,no general role to cover all situation,prayers and biblical guidance must be applied to solve situation. On the other side, this should not turn into opportunity for other church members to remarry and left again and again,it won't be Praising Jesus but rather evil. dan hesko 9 hours ago As a conservative priest and pastor of a suburban parish for 20 plus years, I welcome this pastoral. I believe firmly in doctrinal purity, but there must be an Avenue for pastoral realities. Although I believe the Doctrine of the Church and the teachings of the Scripture are black and white, most people living the faith are in the middle between the black and white in the grey. I belive this document may help bishops and pastors to lead people with compassion in thier Christian journey. Like Reply Share 1 reply 1 Kalappura Thomas 3 hours ago Compassion cannot disregard the teachings of the Church. In respect of many sins there are ways to use compassion and correction. In respect of continued state of adultery,what and how compassion is to be applied? Marriage and indissolubility stand on a different footing and compassion has nothing much to help. Jesus said " if any one wants to follow me,take up cross daily and follow me" No Pope,no pastoral care can ignore the Holy Words of Jesus. Copyright CNA All rights reserved us at: news@catholicna.com