Let's unpack the Fox News summary, assuming those are the pope's words.
- Pope Francis says divorced Catholics who remarry and their children deserve better treatment from the Catholic church. Of what specific treatment does the pope speak? These innuendos are not at all helpful; they are in fact quite harmful to the faith and thus to souls.
- But he said these couples' children suffer because estrangement from full participation in the church makes it harder for the parents to raise their children as Catholics. The onus for such "suffering" and "estrangement" lies squarely on the shoulders of those living in de facto adultery. Moreover, it is the terrible examples being set by these parents that are hindering the raising of these children as Catholics. If the parents don't live by Catholic teaching, how on earth do they expect their children to do so - assuming that's their priority?
- He said pastors shouldn't "add more weight" to what these children suffer from failed marriages. It's not the pastors "adding the weight" but the adulterous parents who are doing so.
So that's Fox's take on the matter. Here is the English translation as it appears on the Vatican site. Truth be told, I don't see where Fox's take is all that different from the original. We do see talk of the Church holding adulterous couples "at arm's length" and nowhere at all do I see one mention of the couples' responsibilities to repent and to abide by Church teaching. The doors of the Church are open; but first they must enter through the doors of the confessional, with firm purpose to amend their situations and their lives. Any attempt to minimize that truth is the true disservice to those who need to hear the truth before it's too late.
ReplyDeleteWhat!!???
"But he said these couples' children suffer because estrangement from full participation in the church makes it harder for the parents to raise their children as Catholics."
So he is essentially saying that for all the years I approached the Eucharist, arms crossed, with my young, catechized children behind me seeing Mom receive a blessing prior to them receiving the Body and Blood of Christ made them suffer? What? Here I thought it was actually a good thing for them to see their Mom respect the Church's teaching! (I was not confirmed until several years later, it was not due to a remarriage, but same difference!)