A French theologian has proposed an updated version of an ancient penitential tradition as a way forward for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. Dominican Thomas Michelet has suggested an updating of the ancient order of penitents (ordo paenitentium) for people who find themselves in a persistent condition of discrepancy from Chruch teaching. For several reasons, Read more
A survey by a UK group committed to the reforms of Vatican II has highlighted issues its authors say are strangling the Church. A survey of 342 people, mostly Catholic, earlier this year by A Call To Action describes a widening gap between Church teaching on sexual and family ethics and the opinion and practice Read more
A German cardinal has warned not to expect dramatic changes in Church practice from October’s synod on the family. Cardinal Reinhard Marx told a Munich meeting the synod may not be ready to approve allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion. The cardinal said “it will not be simple” to bring this about. Cardinal Read more
Pope Francis has asked a congregation of more than a million people in Ecuador that they pray for a miracle to happen in October’s synod on the family. Preaching at a Mass on Monday at Guayaquil, the Pope said the point of the synod is “to mature a true spiritual discernment and find concrete solutions Read more
A biblical scholar has concluded that Jesus did not repudiate the Mosaic concession whereby marriages could be ended because of ‘hardness of heart’. Camaldolese monk Guido Innocenzo Gargano, a professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, put forward the theory in the Urbaniana University Journal earlier this year. Now, in a new essay, he has reiterated Read more
The working document for October’s synod on the family has affirmed the need for the Church to speak its message of mercy more clearly. The Instrumentum Laboris was released by the Vatican on June 23. It includes portions of the final document from the 2014 synod and is also informed by responses from bishops’ conferences and others Read more
The presidents of Africa’s bishops’ conferences have stated they will not adopt the language of movements fighting for the destruction of the family. In a preparatory meeting in Accra, Ghana ahead of October’s synod on the family, the bishops stated “we must begin from the faith, reaffirm it and live it for the sake of Read more
A controversial Australian reality show that pairs couples in arranged marriage premiered in New Zealand on Monday. The documentary series, which will air on TV3, involves four men and four women being paired off by relationship experts and meeting each other for the first time at the altar. The show, Married at First Sight, then Read more
Cardinal Walter Kasper says Pope Francis wanted him to raise the question of Communion for the divorced and remarried, but this doesn’t mean papal approval. The cardinal has long promoted a proposal to allow divorced-and-civilly-remarried Catholics to receive Communion after a period of repentance. He raised the topic during a talk at a consistory of Read more
Every priest and parish in Britain and Ireland is to receive a DVD defending Catholic teaching on marriage, the family and sexuality. The DVD comes from the British Confraternity of Catholic Clergy in collaboration with St Anthony Communications, which specialises in catechetical video presentations. It has been launched as the Church prepares for the synod Read more