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Communion ban causes a bind

10 Nov 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"The children of this age marry and remarry,” Jesus reminds his contemporaries as they try to snare him with a trick question on marriage laws. Rules barring from Communion divorced Catholics who remarry without a prior annulment may be in for a change under Pope Francis.The current policy has caused what some call a “silent schism,” and bishops around the world concede that the ban has alienated untold numbers of Catholics and their families. “I think this is the moment for mercy,” Francis told reporters when asked about remarried Catholics during a wide-ranging news conference on the plane back to Rome from World Youth Day in Brazil in July.Francis seems to favor a more pastoral approach to the perplexing question of “invalid” marriages—couples who remarry outside the church without getting an annulment, or those who do not get married in church in the first place. In both cases those Catholics are ineligible to receive Communion, the central sacrament of Catholic practice.For years efforts have tried to convince Rome to try something new—appeals that the new pope seems ready to heed. “We are on the way towards a deeper matrimonial pastoral care,” Francis said. “This is a problem for many people.”In the U.S. alone, out of a total of nearly 30 million married Catholics, some 4.5 million are divorced and remarried without an annulment, according to Mark Gray of Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.Moreover, the number of Catholics marrying in the church and the number of annulments are steadily declining, which means that a growing number of Catholics are in “irregular” marriages and are technically barred from receiving Communion.Yet there are powerful currents for maintaining the status quo. For example, Roman officials have in recent years been trying to rein in annulments, not expand them, saying that tribunals—especially in the U.S.—are too quick to grant them. Another warning sign: Amid rising speculation that change is coming, the Vatican’s top doctrinal official, Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, published a lengthy article in the Vatican newspaper on Oct. 22 that cast serious doubt on any prospects for reform.Even an appeal to mercy for remarried Catholics—which Francis explicitly advocated—“misses the mark,” Mueller wrote in unusually direct language. Given this pushback, said longtime Vatican watcher John Thavis, “it’s legitimate to wonder where the church is really headed: substantial change or another dead-end debate.”Homily hint: Will change come in an area of vital pastoral concern to millions of Catholic couples and their pastors? Catholics in the pews have a voice in all this. Encourage those in attendance to make their perspectives known. Source: An article by David Gibson for Religion News Service

Divorce Pope Francis communion mark gray gerhard mueller john thavis remarriage divorced catholics

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Matches made in heaven sometimes fail on earth

28 Sep 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

After hearing the complaints of the house of Israel, the Lord asks in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Jeremiah, “Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?” A clash between traditionalist and reformer bishops over fair treatment for divorced and remarried Catholics has flared up in anticipation of a Synod on the Family that will examine the annulment process. Pope Francis has appointed a special commission to look at ways to make it less complicated for Roman Catholics to dissolve their marriages in the eyes of the church. The goal of the 11-member commission announced last week is to reform the process, “with the objective of simplifying its procedure, making it more streamlined.” Francis urged bishops to build unity and avoid fragmentation over the issue. “Don’t waste energy in disagreements and clashes, but in building and loving,” the pope said in a recent address. He celebrated the weddings of 20 couples recently, including those who have been openly living together and one who had a child out of wedlock, perhaps hinting at his preference for a more open approach. According to church law, Catholics can obtain annulments if they can show their marriage was not valid. But if they opt out of the annulment process, divorce in civil court, and then remarry the church may refuse them Communion. Five cardinals are publishing a new book reinforcing the sanctity of marriage next week, only days before bishops gather in Rome for the conference on the subject. The synod will consider other issues as well, including divorce, cohabitation, domestic violence, and gay unions. German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, one of the authors of the book, Remaining in the Truth of Christ, has made it clear he believes no one has the power to sever the bonds of marriage. “When we are in the presence of a valid marriage, there is no way to sever that bond,” Mueller said. “Neither the pope nor any other bishop has the authority to do so, because it touches on a reality that belongs to God, not to them,” Mueller said. Vatican observers respond that while the pope may want to streamline the process that did not mean he wants to change church doctrine. Homily hint: We all know good and faithful Catholics whose marriages failed for one reason or another. Some opt for the annulment process. Others are intimidated or confused by the process and never pursue it. Perhaps some don’t really care, but many do, and likely would come forward if the process was streamlined and made more accessible. The Synod on the Family has an opportunity to accomplish that while staying true to church teaching. Source: Articles by Josephine McKenna for Religion News Service

synod of bishops annulments divorce and remarriage church teaching

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Pope Francis: Don’t divorce remarried Catholics from the church

09 Aug 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

We hear in this Sunday’s gospel that the people “murmured about Jesus” because they didn’t know what to make of the things he said. Some of Pope Francis’ striking statements on social and economic issues have those who would like to pigeon-hole the pontiff into one ideological camp or another murmuring. But one commentator points out that Francis isn’t conservative or progressive so much as a consummate evangelist—he wants everyone to feel welcome in the church and for the church to welcome everyone. Wednesday he encouraged clergy not to treat divorced Catholics who remarry, along with their children, as if they're excommunicated. “They absolutely must not be treated that way,” Francis said. “They always belong to the church," he said, insisting it must maintain “open doors.” Homily hint: It is refreshing to see how Pope Francis emphasizes the catholicity—universality—of our faith tradition. As Jesus reminded us on more than one occasion, he did not come to save the righteous, he comes for everyone. For more on Pope Francis’ approach to evangelism, see: Pope Francis’s divorce comments show he’s neither a liberal nor conservative. He’s an evangelist.

Evangelization family life divorce and remarriage

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