In his August 5, 2015 General Audience, Pope Francis broached the controversial topic of civilly divorced Catholics who have remarried. The secular media lit up with pronouncements that Pope Francis was pushing for communion for the divorced and remarried. Those who advocate for a change to Church doctrine and those who are caught up in fear of impending heresy at the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Family may hear such a message in the Pope’s address. But if one reads this address, it is clear that Pope Francis is offering solid catechesis.
His very first words describing those who have divorced and remarried are:
The Church is fully aware that such a situation is contrary to the Christian Sacrament. However, her gaze as a teacher always draws from a mother’s heart; a heart which, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, always seeks the good and the salvation of the people.
A Child’s Misbehavior
Perhaps because I am a mother, these words resonated with me. He laid down the law — divorce and remarriage are contrary to the Christian Sacrament. But his imagery of the Church offering her teaching with a mother’s heart reveals a law that stems from tenderness and mercy, not from unfeeling rigidity.
Those of us who have children have felt the pain of a child’s misbehavior. It may be something minor such as the disobedience of a young child. It may be something more significant during the rebellious teenage years. It may be something heartbreaking as our adult children make poor life choices and face devastating consequences. No matter how old our children are or how badly their actions hurt themselves or us, they never stop being our children and we never stop loving them.
I believe that is what Pope Francis was trying to convey about the relationship of the Church with those who have divorced and remarried. They are no different than the rest of us, in the sense that they are sinners as we all are. The Church does not condone the sins but does love the sinners. Perfection is not required to sit in the pews or participate in the life of the parish.
The Divorced in Familiaris Consortio
However, like a good mother, the Church cannot ignore our failings or shield us completely from the consequences of our mistakes. It is important to note that Pope Francis references St. John Paul II’s encyclical Familiaris Consortio in dealing with those in irregular marital situations and the requirement for careful discernment in developing a compassionate pastoral response. Some interpreted this to mean that Pope Francis is opening the doors to pastoral discretion on the reception of Communion by those remarried after divorce. However, if one reads the full text that Pope Francis cites, one sees this section explicitly rejects the possibility of opening Communion:
However, the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist. (Familiaris Consortio 84)
In this general audience Pope Francis is admonishing us not to treat those who have divorced and remarried as outside the redemptive capacity of God’s love and mercy. We must welcome them to share in the spiritual life of the parish and support them in bringing their children up in the Church.
In truth, their situation is not so different than that of anyone else in the parish. Every Sunday each of us must discern our state of grace and receive or abstain from Communion accordingly. Certainly living in an irregular marital situation is a longstanding impediment to receiving the Eucharist. Yet Pope Francis makes clear there is still a great deal of grace to be gained “through prayer, by listening to the Word of God, by attending the liturgy, through the Christian education of their children, through charity and service to the poor, through the commitment to justice and peace.”
When we fail to welcome those who have divorced and remarried into our parishes we are behaving like squabbling siblings claiming that, “Mom loves me best!” But our Holy Mother Church has no favorite children. In spite of our shortcomings and imperfections, Her maternal embrace encircles us all.
16 thoughts on “Embracing the Divorced and Remarried With a Mother’s Heart”
As I have noted in other similar comboxes. I hear all about the problem but rarely, if ever, do I hear a discussion about a solution. OK I get it, divorced and remarried-no communion, done, finished, agreed. When are we going to reach out and express our sincere concern for anothers’ soul and voice the fact that living in a state of mortal sin will end us eternally separated from God? How about speaking about how the divorced and re-married are welcomed to share in the sacrifice of the mass while we Wait in hope for a change of heart and behavior? How about those that can receive offer it for those that can’t? Until the divorced and re-married cease to be treated as those with the ‘unforgiveable sin’ and presented with the course needed to be in full communion with the church all the ’empty talk’ about such will remain in vain and fruitless.
Having worked closely with a priest who advised couples on annulments I don’t see why more divorced Catholics who were married in the church do not seek one? If cost is a factor then they should be made available on a sliding fee scale. Assisting Catholics whose marriages have failed for valid reasons should be a priority. It’s very important for priests to stress when counselling couples that marriage is a sacrament and a serious undertaking and one that the Church does not take lightly unlike our secular world.
Thank you for this, I believe you are exactly right.
However, if one reads the full text that Pope Francis cites, one sees this section explicitly rejects the possibility of opening Communion:
You forgot the teaching that by not attending mass another mortal sin is put on their tab
which begs the question – where are these people you are welcoming to share in the life
of the church ? … they left. A simpler analogy would go like this : who would attend a
Banquet if they were not allowed to eat ?
The obligation to attend Mass is there whether or not one receives Communion. If you realize that you have not observed the Eucharistic fast should you skip Mass? Of course not! If you are not in a state of grace to receive Communion should you skip Mass? No! Perhaps the assembly line fashion in which we often approach Communion hinders our understanding that receiving Communion is not an automatic function of attending Mass.
Perhaps the assembly line fashion in which we often approach Communion hinders our understanding that receiving Communion is not an automatic function of attending Mass.
Well stated. There was an interesting discussion in CS about this very
method and how it impacted ones understanding of the Real Presence.
However, my “simpler” analogy explains many of the empty pews. Only someone in a state of mortal sin is barred from Communion which begs
the other question : why go to mass if you are not able to receive grace
while in that condition. These are merely observations which are acted upon by former, ex, lapsed, dissident, cafeteria, ect Catholics who have
left a sizable hole in the fabric of the body of Christ – not to mention those
EF zealots who have left the NO for holier ground.
There is no issue in pastoral care for divorced Catholics. No one is shunned from the Church. Why does the Church try to make an issue of it when families face so many real problems? Why does our church not concentrate on making a Catholic school education available and affordable for all active parish families? Save our children from anti-theistic government schools. That would give a truly pastoral theme to the synod rather than the promotion of heresy.
“a Catholic school education available and affordable for all active parish families’
I was educated in Catholic schools from 1938 to 1950, by nuns for eight years and mainly by priests for four. That education was available and affordable only because the faculties and administrators worked for room and board. It was only the selfless religious vocations of individuals which made it possible. We must pray for such heroic vocations.
So what Bob, me too. With the absence(thankyou VII) of vocations it is necessary for every parish to form a local endowment to support the nearest Catholic school(s). In time, time enough has passed already, these endowments could make Catholic school affordable for most families but they have to be locally controlled and staffed by volunteers because if the diocese runs them, they will cream the returns and report only a 1-2% harvest from the endowment. The Ave Maria Rising Dividend Fund is an example of a suitable investment. Our church, especially baby boomer grandparents, has access to tremendous resources to fund the schools through 501(c)3 endowments which give the donors DEDUCTIONS to support their childrens’ and grandchildrens’ schools. I fail to see a more important mission the USA church could have outside of the liturgy of the Mass.
This is not an either/or choice but a both/and approach. Yes, absolutely, we need to be supporting families in the education of their children. But there are many, many children whose parents are in irregular marital settings. For the sake of these children we need to make their parents welcome in our parishes. It is not right to just wash our hands of these families. Christ went after the lost sheep and we need to do the same.
Why make such a typical and illogical reply. No divorced or cohabiting adults are unwelcomed in any parish I’ve ever been a member of. In today’s world the pastor is unlikely to even be aware of the marital status of most of the parish. You are crearting a false argument with strawmen in an attempt to negate the explicit teachings of Jesus Christ our King. Mercy does not belong to you to absolve sin.
Please explain where I am trying to negate an explicit teaching of Jesus? I am certainly not absolving any sin nor even trying to condone sin. The fact that you personally have not witnessed the pain of families dealing with the consequences of their moral failings with regards to marriage does not mean these families do not exist. Clearly Pope Francis thinks these families exist. I have spoken with many priests who also feel this is a significant population that we need to do a better job reaching. Closing the doors on such families does not encourage repentance or redemption.
No one has closed any doors, again you misrepresent the situation. And of course you are wrong about what I know, presumptive one. My sister-in-law, married for 30 years with two grown children, got divorced for adultery with a grade school sweetheart. She got remarried by a renegade Catholic married priest and continued to attend Mass and receive communion all the while. I do think Christ might have some instruction for her, especially as she thought the Holy Spirit led her to true love. Christ was quite severe with sinners and shook the dust off His feet for those who would not hear the Word. You may not change God or His Word.
A contraceptive mentality has morphed catholic school, the teaching vocations are no more, the schools are private, The focus is top college acceptance, great sports programs and Bishops are mostly silent. The schools have become mostly elitist, upper middle class, one or two children, if the students happen to actually be catholic are they following Humanae Vitae? NFP couples I know of can’t afford to attend, because they have 3 or more children.
I agree that nothing is more important than addressing Catholic school for all Catholic children.
God bless you – yes we are subsidizing private schools for non-Catholic doctors and lawyers who want a cheap out education for their kids, 1/2 price or less?
Some things are permanent. Conception, baptism, death.. That’s the way life is. Some things are “til death do we part”.