Italian bishop slams prejudice against unconventional couples

The Church should do more to welcome “unconventional couples”, instead of making them targets of “de facto discrimination”, a leading Italian bishop says.

The secretary-general of the Italian bishops’ conference, Bishop Nunzio Galantino, said couples in “irregular matrimonial situations” are still Christians.

Speaking at a national liturgical gathering in Italy on August 27, Bishop Galantino noted Church teaching that those in “an irregular marital situation” cannot receive Holy Communion “because of their condition”.

But such couples are often looked at “with prejudice” in the Church, he said.

He discussed how people in irregular relationships can feel this discipline as “very severe, not inclusive” and even “punitive” towards “the difficulties of marital life” or towards their choice to break up a relationship.

“Often many people perceive the Church’s attitude as more severe than what it actually is, since they feel the fact they are not admitted to sacraments as an exclusion from ecclesiastical life,” the bishop said.

He said that Catholics should recognise that some of the faithful are excessively harsh towards those in irregular relationships and they erroneously see the Church’s discipline “as an exclusion of their brothers and sisters”.

He said that some of the faithful sometimes look at people in irregular relationships “with a glance full of prejudice, as if their faith and their belonging to the Church was compromised”.

“In addition to the burden of their non-admission to the sacraments, there is an unjustified de facto discrimination towards them, as an added price to pay.”

“Even these people are Christian faithful, so they are part of the Church and in the eucharistic assembly they are and they must feel at home,” the bishop said.

Bishop Galantino said current pastoral guidelines reaffirm Church membership of those in irregular relationships and suggest “paths of ecclesial life” and liturgical participation, even though they cannot receive Holy Communion.

His comments were widely reported in Italian media.

Bishop Galantino, who was appointed to his current position by Pope Francis, has made controversial comments in the past, such as the need for the Church to welcome gays and to consider optional celibacy for the priesthood.

In October, the Vatican will host a synod of bishops to discuss issues facing the modern family.

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