Pope Francis has said divorced and civilly remarried Catholics are not excommunicated and must not be treated as if they were. At his general audience on August 5, the Pope said such people are “still part of the Church”, even though “their unions are contrary to the sacrament of marriage”. “As these situations especially affect Read more
The Church’s doctrinal chief says the synod on the family faces a challenge in helping people in difficult situations while staying true to Jesus’ teaching. In a recent interview, Cardinal Gerhard Muller said the synod in October will need to deal with “the challenge of finding pastoral solutions to ensure a stronger integration of people Read more
Bishops have been urged to increase pastoral care for travellers at international airports. A seminar of aviation and airport chaplains in Rome this month noted that airports can be places of “difficult situations asking for extra care”. “We urge the ordinaries of the areas where there are international airports to increase the pastoral care of Read more
Pope Francis has changed one significant emphasis of his pontificate since last year’s extraordinary synod on the family, a Vatican watcher says. Vaticanista Sandro Magister, writing for the Italian L’Espresso magazine, said in the first two summers of his pontificate, Francis “gave space and visibility to the men and movements in favour of a reform Read more
In a rare piece of writing published since his retirement, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI pointed to the need for the Church to extend its pastoral care to non-believers. A letter written by Benedict was published as an introduction to a book by former Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. The book was titled “Faith and the Read more
A German cardinal has blasted his nation’s ecclesiastical apparatus as completely unfit to work against growing secularism. According to the Catholic News Agency, Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes wrote a letter to a German language newspaper objecting to statements by two prelates from his homeland. In February, German bishops’ conference president Cardinal Reinhard Marx said: “We Read more
A Vatican document released at the halfway point of the synod on the family shows a dramatic shift in the Church’s language about homosexual people. The relatio post disceptationem is a summary of the discussions held at the synod so far. It was read out in the presence of Pope Francis and the synod delegates Read more
Momentum is building at the synod on the family for a change in the language the Church uses in its teaching on sexuality. But that doesn’t mean a change in Church doctrine, two leading cardinals have said. “Everybody wants to show God’s love and mercy, but it also brings you to very difficult situations and Read more