The predicament of divorced and remarried Catholics will be a major topic of discussion when bishops from around the world meet at the Vatican in October 2014. The Vatican announced on Oct. 8 that an extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops will convene from Oct. 5 through Oct. 19, 2014, to discuss the “pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.” The pope had told reporters accompanying him on his return from Rio de Janeiro in July that the next synod would explore a “somewhat deeper pastoral care of marriage,” including the question of the eligibility of divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion. Pope Francis added at the time that church law governing marriage annulments also “has to be reviewed, because ecclesiastical tribunals are not sufficient for this.” The announcement of the synod came amid news that the Archdiocese of Freiburg, Germany, had issued new guidelines making it easier for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion. The Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, S.J., said that such matters were more properly dealt with at a church-wide level, “under the guidance of the pope and the bishops.”
Synod to Discuss Families
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William Atkinson
10 years 6 months ago
Jesus came for all peoples, His life was for all peoples, He shed his blood for all peoples, The first council was over this subject of this subject, circumcision was only the catalyst of the time. Was He here for only one group or all mankind? To deny the Body and Blood of Christ to anyone is a controlling element of a political governing body and should be made a serious error and used only by negative even (evil) intended force. Its use as a mentone of a privileged sect should be banned thought the Church. If ever there was a need for the Sacred Body and Blood to be available to all mankind, especially those living on the edge, it is never as great as the days of our times. The healing and forgiving graces of Jesus Christ Himself should more and more be made available to all Gods wonderous creation. In his Image and Likeness we are..
Mike Evans
10 years 6 months ago
The rules and guidelines on marriage actually had and have more to do with preserving "family rights" than the good of individuals themselves. These are the rights to a family name, to inherit, to share in the accumulated wealth or power of a particular dynastic situation. In the ordinary situation, these matters are of trivial importance and somewhat simply adjudicated by a civil court. The greater pastoral questions of salvation, lifelong deprivation by loneliness, and the simple case of love being allowed to burst forth anew are yet to be explored. Certainly salvation must include the ability to receive the sacraments again. Bring in the eastern rite bishops and priests and let them tell their stories and experience of lives saved and souls saved through their principle of 'economia.'
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