In the preface of a new Vatican document on preparing couples for the Sacrament of Matrimony, he called for new "concrete" guidelines to be drafted.

These would help those offering pastoral care to divorced and remarried Catholics, he said.

The text, called "Catechumenal Itineraries for Married Life", was released last week in Italian and Spanish, just days before Rome hosts the 10th World Meeting of Families.

He says it's his "heartfelt desire" that the text will be followed as soon as possible by another.

The second one will "indicate concrete pastoral steps and possible pathways of accompaniment specifically dedicated to couples who have experienced the failure of their marriage and are living in a new union or are remarried civilly," Francis wrote in the preface.

In essence, Francis promises a practical method of applying one of the most commented upon points of his apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia.

In this, he said divorced Catholics who are in new partnerships need to be "more fully integrated into Christian communities".

This would require "pastoral accompaniment", "the Church's help" and - he specified in a footnote no. 351 - "in certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments".

Much has been made of Francis's comments. Some have criticised Francis for going back on the Catholic doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage.

While not responding to critics directly, Francis said the interpretation of Amoris laetitia that he offered to Argentina's bishops had the authority of "authentic magisterium".

In a letter to Argentina's bishops he insisted on the importance of discernment and "discreet" access to the sacraments in certain cases for divorced couples who have remarried.

"The Church wants to be close to these couples."

It's not clear if Francis will address this thorny issue in the second document he has mentioned.

For the Church to build bridges with divorced and remarried Catholics is clearly important to him though.

It will be a matter of ensuring that these couples "do not feel abandoned and can find accessible and fraternal places of welcome, help in discernment and participation in communities" he says.

"The Church, in fact, wants to be close to these couples and walk the via caritas with them."

It's necessary to bridge the gap between the "many years" that the Church dedicates to preparing candidates for the priesthood and the "few weeks" of marriage prep it offers to couples who are committing themselves to a "mission as great as that of the family," Francis says.

Source

• La Croix

Cardinal Georges Cottier said in an interview with Jesuit journal La Civilta Catholica that the term is too generic and is applied in "fundamentally different situations".

The Swiss Dominican described two very different cases which come under the "remarried divorcee" category.

One case is that of a person who has been abandoned by his or her spouse and who holds custody of their children.

This person meets someone who offers them help and security and the two marry.

The other case involves a married person with adolescent children who "meets a younger and brilliant individual".

"They are carried away by passion, abandon their family, divorce and enter into a civil marriage" and "take part in parish life".

"These are different cases," Cardinal Cottier said.

The second one involves a "scandal", while the first is linked to solitude, a difficulty in moving on, "vulnerability, need, including for companionship".

"Generally, in every situation, justice requires certain important factors to be taken into account": "The duty one has towards the abandoned spouse, who often remains faithful to their sacramental vows, the rights of the children born during the first and legitimate marriage".

What is needed is "prudent judgement", Cardinal Cottier stated.

"I believe that the solution to some problems should come from the prudent judgement of the bishop.

"I say this not without hesitation and doubt, seeing division between bishops.

"My claim refers first and foremost to certain situations where there is a big likelihood of the first marriage being null but it is difficult to provide canonical proof".

"In rigorism there is an innate brutality that goes against the gentle way God has of guiding each person," he added.

Cardinal Cottier said there are men and women who, "due to a negative judgement which was expressed in an impersonal and insensitive way, have felt a terrible rejection".

"This is where confessors have a huge responsibility," he said.

"Whenever they express a judgement and whatever this judgement is, it needs to be expressed and explained in a way that communicates the Church's maternal concern."

Sources

• Vatican Insider
• Image: Irish Catholic

The Code of Canon Law says such a synod is held to "deal with matters which require a speedy solution".

It will be only the third extraordinary synod since Pope Paul VI reinstituted synods in 1965. The previous two have been on improving co-operation between the Holy See and national bishops' conferences (1969) and the 20th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council (1985).

Pope Francis had told reporters accompanying him on his plane back 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.

He added that Church law governing marriage annulments also "has to be reviewed, because ecclesiastical tribunals are not sufficient for this. It is complex, the problem of the pastoral care of marriage."

Such problems, he said, exemplified a general need for forgiveness in the Church today. "The Church is a mother, and she must travel this path of mercy, and find a form of mercy for all," the Pope added.

The official theme of the synod will be "The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation".

"It is very important that an extraordinary synod has been convoked on the theme of the pastoral [care] of the family", said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.

"This is the way in which the Pope intends to promote reflection and to guide the path of the community of the Church, with the responsible participation of the episcopate from different parts of the world."

He said about 150 synod fathers will take part in the October 5-19 meeting.

Sources:

Catholic News Service

Catholic Herald

Vatican Information Service

Image: AsiaNews

Freiburg's pastoral care office has published a 14-page guidebook for priests and deacons in the archdiocese with detailed recommendations on how to conduct "a pastorally and theologically profound discussion process" with remarried divorcees.

"Following a decision taken responsibly and according to one's conscience, the possibilty can also arise, under concrete circumstances, to receive the sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Confession and Anointing of the Sick, as long as the necessary faithful disposition is present," the guidebook says.

It then spells out what it means by "a decision taken responsibly and according to one's conscience".

Divorced congregants should be counselled, and they should be able to credibly show "that a return to the first partner is really not possible, and that the first marriage cannot conceivably be lived in again".

They should show they take their faith seriously but have decided a second marriage was right for them and any family they have.

"Such a marriage also has a spiritual dimension because it is based on the personal belief of the partners and their participation in the life of the Church," the guidebook notes.

The divorcee should repent of the fault he or she carries for the divorce, and should enter "a new moral responsibility" with the new partner.

If all these conditions are met, the receiving of sacraments can be allowed.

The head of Freiburg's pastoral care office, Andreas Möhrle, said: "In contact with divorced and civilly married congregants, our concern is that the hospitable and respectful attitude of Jesus can be experienced.... The faithfulness and mercy of God also applies to those whose life plans have failed."

But Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Freiburg guidebook "changes nothing" and "offering special pastoral solutions by individuals or local offices can risk causing confusion".

He emphasised that Pope Francis was working with his bishops on a reform of family issues and stressing the importance of "conducting a journey in full communion with the Church community".

Sources:

Spiegel Online

Reuters

John Thavis

Image: DW