{"id":11301,"date":"2015-08-12T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-12T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm-14822\/"},"modified":"2015-08-12T12:01:00","modified_gmt":"2015-08-12T12:01:00","slug":"the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/","title":{"rendered":"The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Marriage_Couple_holding_hands_Credit_scribbletaylor_via_Flickr_CC_BY_NC_20_CNA_11_19_14.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Bogot\u00e1, Colombia, Aug 12, 2015 \/ 06:01 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Two Colombian bishops indicated on Thursday that while the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, that still doesn't mean they are able to receive Communion \u2013 in an attempt to clarify recent confusion.<\/p>\n<p>\tAt an Aug. 6 press conference, Cardinal Rub\u00e9n Salazar G\u00f3mez of Bogota explained that while the divorced and remarried remain part of the Church and are not excommunicated, they are impeded from receiving Eucharistic Communion.<\/p>\n<p>\tThe archbishop indicated this after various media reports misinterpreted the statements made by Pope Francis <a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-divorce-and-remarriage-contradicts-the-sacrament-but-church-always-reaches-out-22224\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">at his Aug. 5 General Audience<\/a>, in which he discussed the divorced and remarried.<\/p>\n<p>\tPope Francis had said that the divorced and remarried \u201care by no means excommunicated, and they should absolutely not be treated as such: They are always part of the Church,\u201d while adding that \u201csuch a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament\u201d of marriage.<\/p>\n<p>\tSome media outlets focused exclusively on the Pope's words assuring that the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, and ignored his statement that the situation contradicts marriage.<\/p>\n<p>\tIn light of the media's confusion, Cardinal Salazar explained, \u201cit cannot be said that Pope Francis said the divorced and remarried can receive Communion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tThis statement, he added, is nothing new in the Church.<\/p>\n<p>\tA divorced and remarried person, the Colombian cardinal said, \u201cis not excommunicated from the Church, rather, they continue to be part of the Church. The Church considers them as a member of her community; but the doctrine is constant and there is no innovation here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tBishop Jos\u00e9 Falla Robles, auxiliary of the Cali archdiocese, added that \u201cthe Catholic Church has never considered persons who are divorced and remarried to be excommunicated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tExcommunication is, in fact, a medicinal penalty, and an excommunicated person cannot have a ministerial participation in worship; celebrate or receive the sacraments; or exercise ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions.<\/p>\n<p>\tBishop Falla said Pope Francis' comments during the General Audience clarified that the divorced are not excommunicated and that they have a place in the Church: \u201cthey are the sons of God and of the Church \u2013 therefore they should be provided with spiritual care and allowed to participate in the Church's life.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=owmI8e8VhQ8:KbRvMKs5hyo:yIl2AUoC8zA\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/owmI8e8VhQ8\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Marriage_Couple_holding_hands_Credit_scribbletaylor_via_Flickr_CC_BY_NC_20_CNA_11_19_14.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, Aug 12, 2015 \/ 06:01 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" target=\"_self\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Two Colombian bishops indicated on Thursday that while the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, that still doesn&#8217;t mean they are able to receive Communion &ndash; in an attempt to clarify recent confusion.<\/p>\n<p>\tAt an Aug. 6 press conference, Cardinal Rub&eacute;n Salazar G&oacute;mez of Bogota explained that while the divorced and remarried remain part of the Church and are not excommunicated, they are impeded from receiving Eucharistic Communion.<\/p>\n<p>\tThe archbishop indicated this after various media reports misinterpreted the statements made by Pope Francis <a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-divorce-and-remarriage-contradicts-the-sacrament-but-church-always-reaches-out-22224\/\">at his Aug. 5 General Audience<\/a>, in which he discussed the divorced and remarried.<\/p>\n<p>\tPope Francis had said that the divorced and remarried &ldquo;are by no means excommunicated, and they should absolutely not be treated as such: They are always part of the Church,&rdquo; while adding that &ldquo;such a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament&rdquo; of marriage.<\/p>\n<p>\tSome media outlets focused exclusively on the Pope&#8217;s words assuring that the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, and ignored his statement that the situation contradicts marriage.<\/p>\n<p>\tIn light of the media&#8217;s confusion, Cardinal Salazar explained, &ldquo;it cannot be said that Pope Francis said the divorced and remarried can receive Communion.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\tThis statement, he added, is nothing new in the Church.<\/p>\n<p>\tA divorced and remarried person, the Colombian cardinal said, &ldquo;is not excommunicated from the Church, rather, they continue to be part of the Church. The Church considers them as a member of her community; but the doctrine is constant and there is no innovation here.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\tBishop Jos&eacute; Falla Robles, auxiliary of the Cali archdiocese, added that &ldquo;the Catholic Church has never considered persons who are divorced and remarried to be excommunicated.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\tExcommunication is, in fact, a medicinal penalty, and an excommunicated person cannot have a ministerial participation in worship; celebrate or receive the sacraments; or exercise ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions.<\/p>\n<p>\tBishop Falla said Pope Francis&#8217; comments during the General Audience clarified that the divorced are not excommunicated and that they have a place in the Church: &ldquo;they are the sons of God and of the Church &ndash; therefore they should be provided with spiritual care and allowed to participate in the Church&#8217;s life.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=owmI8e8VhQ8:KbRvMKs5hyo:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/owmI8e8VhQ8\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, Aug 12, 2015 \/ 06:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Two Colombian bishops indicated on Thursday that while the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, that still doesn&#039;t mean they are able to receive Communion &ndash; in an attempt to clarify recent confusion. At an Aug. 6 press conference, Cardinal Rub&eacute;n Salazar G&oacute;mez of Bogota explained that while the divorced and remarried remain part of the Church and are not excommunicated, they are impeded from receiving Eucharistic Communion. The archbishop indicated this after various media reports misinterpreted the statements made by Pope Francis at his Aug. 5 General Audience, in which he discussed the divorced and remarried. Pope Francis had said that the divorced and remarried &ldquo;are by no means excommunicated, and they should absolutely not be treated as such: They are always part of the Church,&rdquo; while adding that &ldquo;such a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament&rdquo; of marriage. Some media outlets focused exclusively on the Pope&#039;s words assuring that the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, and ignored his statement that the situation contradicts marriage. In light of the media&#039;s confusion, Cardinal Salazar explained, &ldquo;it cannot be said that Pope Francis said the divorced and remarried can receive Communion.&rdquo; This statement, he added, is nothing new in the Church. A divorced and remarried person, the Colombian cardinal said, &ldquo;is not excommunicated from the Church, rather, they continue to be part of the Church. The Church considers them as a member of her community; but the doctrine is constant and there is no innovation here.&rdquo; Bishop Jos&eacute; Falla Robles, auxiliary of the Cali archdiocese, added that &ldquo;the Catholic Church has never considered persons who are divorced and remarried to be excommunicated.&rdquo; Excommunication is, in fact, a medicinal penalty, and an excommunicated person cannot have a ministerial participation in worship; celebrate or receive the sacraments; or exercise ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions. Bishop Falla said Pope Francis&#039; comments during the General Audience clarified that the divorced are not excommunicated and that they have a place in the Church: &ldquo;they are the sons of God and of the Church &ndash; therefore they should be provided with spiritual care and allowed to participate in the Church&#039;s life.&rdquo;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, Aug 12, 2015 \/ 06:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Two Colombian bishops indicated on Thursday that while the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, that still doesn&#039;t mean they are able to receive Communion &ndash; in an attempt to clarify recent confusion. At an Aug. 6 press conference, Cardinal Rub&eacute;n Salazar G&oacute;mez of Bogota explained that while the divorced and remarried remain part of the Church and are not excommunicated, they are impeded from receiving Eucharistic Communion. The archbishop indicated this after various media reports misinterpreted the statements made by Pope Francis at his Aug. 5 General Audience, in which he discussed the divorced and remarried. Pope Francis had said that the divorced and remarried &ldquo;are by no means excommunicated, and they should absolutely not be treated as such: They are always part of the Church,&rdquo; while adding that &ldquo;such a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament&rdquo; of marriage. Some media outlets focused exclusively on the Pope&#039;s words assuring that the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, and ignored his statement that the situation contradicts marriage. In light of the media&#039;s confusion, Cardinal Salazar explained, &ldquo;it cannot be said that Pope Francis said the divorced and remarried can receive Communion.&rdquo; This statement, he added, is nothing new in the Church. A divorced and remarried person, the Colombian cardinal said, &ldquo;is not excommunicated from the Church, rather, they continue to be part of the Church. The Church considers them as a member of her community; but the doctrine is constant and there is no innovation here.&rdquo; Bishop Jos&eacute; Falla Robles, auxiliary of the Cali archdiocese, added that &ldquo;the Catholic Church has never considered persons who are divorced and remarried to be excommunicated.&rdquo; Excommunication is, in fact, a medicinal penalty, and an excommunicated person cannot have a ministerial participation in worship; celebrate or receive the sacraments; or exercise ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions. Bishop Falla said Pope Francis&#039; comments during the General Audience clarified that the divorced are not excommunicated and that they have a place in the Church: &ldquo;they are the sons of God and of the Church &ndash; therefore they should be provided with spiritual care and allowed to participate in the Church&#039;s life.&rdquo;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-12T12:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Marriage_Couple_holding_hands_Credit_scribbletaylor_via_Flickr_CC_BY_NC_20_CNA_11_19_14.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/\",\"name\":\"The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-12T12:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-08-12T12:01:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, Aug 12, 2015 \/ 06:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Two Colombian bishops indicated on Thursday that while the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, that still doesn't mean they are able to receive Communion &ndash; in an attempt to clarify recent confusion. At an Aug. 6 press conference, Cardinal Rub&eacute;n Salazar G&oacute;mez of Bogota explained that while the divorced and remarried remain part of the Church and are not excommunicated, they are impeded from receiving Eucharistic Communion. The archbishop indicated this after various media reports misinterpreted the statements made by Pope Francis at his Aug. 5 General Audience, in which he discussed the divorced and remarried. Pope Francis had said that the divorced and remarried &ldquo;are by no means excommunicated, and they should absolutely not be treated as such: They are always part of the Church,&rdquo; while adding that &ldquo;such a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament&rdquo; of marriage. Some media outlets focused exclusively on the Pope's words assuring that the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, and ignored his statement that the situation contradicts marriage. In light of the media's confusion, Cardinal Salazar explained, &ldquo;it cannot be said that Pope Francis said the divorced and remarried can receive Communion.&rdquo; This statement, he added, is nothing new in the Church. A divorced and remarried person, the Colombian cardinal said, &ldquo;is not excommunicated from the Church, rather, they continue to be part of the Church. The Church considers them as a member of her community; but the doctrine is constant and there is no innovation here.&rdquo; Bishop Jos&eacute; Falla Robles, auxiliary of the Cali archdiocese, added that &ldquo;the Catholic Church has never considered persons who are divorced and remarried to be excommunicated.&rdquo; Excommunication is, in fact, a medicinal penalty, and an excommunicated person cannot have a ministerial participation in worship; celebrate or receive the sacraments; or exercise ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions. Bishop Falla said Pope Francis' comments during the General Audience clarified that the divorced are not excommunicated and that they have a place in the Church: &ldquo;they are the sons of God and of the Church &ndash; therefore they should be provided with spiritual care and allowed to participate in the Church's life.&rdquo;\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm","description":"Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, Aug 12, 2015 \/ 06:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Two Colombian bishops indicated on Thursday that while the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, that still doesn't mean they are able to receive Communion &ndash; in an attempt to clarify recent confusion. At an Aug. 6 press conference, Cardinal Rub&eacute;n Salazar G&oacute;mez of Bogota explained that while the divorced and remarried remain part of the Church and are not excommunicated, they are impeded from receiving Eucharistic Communion. The archbishop indicated this after various media reports misinterpreted the statements made by Pope Francis at his Aug. 5 General Audience, in which he discussed the divorced and remarried. Pope Francis had said that the divorced and remarried &ldquo;are by no means excommunicated, and they should absolutely not be treated as such: They are always part of the Church,&rdquo; while adding that &ldquo;such a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament&rdquo; of marriage. Some media outlets focused exclusively on the Pope's words assuring that the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, and ignored his statement that the situation contradicts marriage. In light of the media's confusion, Cardinal Salazar explained, &ldquo;it cannot be said that Pope Francis said the divorced and remarried can receive Communion.&rdquo; This statement, he added, is nothing new in the Church. A divorced and remarried person, the Colombian cardinal said, &ldquo;is not excommunicated from the Church, rather, they continue to be part of the Church. The Church considers them as a member of her community; but the doctrine is constant and there is no innovation here.&rdquo; Bishop Jos&eacute; Falla Robles, auxiliary of the Cali archdiocese, added that &ldquo;the Catholic Church has never considered persons who are divorced and remarried to be excommunicated.&rdquo; Excommunication is, in fact, a medicinal penalty, and an excommunicated person cannot have a ministerial participation in worship; celebrate or receive the sacraments; or exercise ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions. Bishop Falla said Pope Francis' comments during the General Audience clarified that the divorced are not excommunicated and that they have a place in the Church: &ldquo;they are the sons of God and of the Church &ndash; therefore they should be provided with spiritual care and allowed to participate in the Church's life.&rdquo;","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm","og_description":"Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, Aug 12, 2015 \/ 06:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Two Colombian bishops indicated on Thursday that while the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, that still doesn't mean they are able to receive Communion &ndash; in an attempt to clarify recent confusion. At an Aug. 6 press conference, Cardinal Rub&eacute;n Salazar G&oacute;mez of Bogota explained that while the divorced and remarried remain part of the Church and are not excommunicated, they are impeded from receiving Eucharistic Communion. The archbishop indicated this after various media reports misinterpreted the statements made by Pope Francis at his Aug. 5 General Audience, in which he discussed the divorced and remarried. Pope Francis had said that the divorced and remarried &ldquo;are by no means excommunicated, and they should absolutely not be treated as such: They are always part of the Church,&rdquo; while adding that &ldquo;such a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament&rdquo; of marriage. Some media outlets focused exclusively on the Pope's words assuring that the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, and ignored his statement that the situation contradicts marriage. In light of the media's confusion, Cardinal Salazar explained, &ldquo;it cannot be said that Pope Francis said the divorced and remarried can receive Communion.&rdquo; This statement, he added, is nothing new in the Church. A divorced and remarried person, the Colombian cardinal said, &ldquo;is not excommunicated from the Church, rather, they continue to be part of the Church. The Church considers them as a member of her community; but the doctrine is constant and there is no innovation here.&rdquo; Bishop Jos&eacute; Falla Robles, auxiliary of the Cali archdiocese, added that &ldquo;the Catholic Church has never considered persons who are divorced and remarried to be excommunicated.&rdquo; Excommunication is, in fact, a medicinal penalty, and an excommunicated person cannot have a ministerial participation in worship; celebrate or receive the sacraments; or exercise ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions. Bishop Falla said Pope Francis' comments during the General Audience clarified that the divorced are not excommunicated and that they have a place in the Church: &ldquo;they are the sons of God and of the Church &ndash; therefore they should be provided with spiritual care and allowed to participate in the Church's life.&rdquo;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2015-08-12T12:01:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Marriage_Couple_holding_hands_Credit_scribbletaylor_via_Flickr_CC_BY_NC_20_CNA_11_19_14.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/","name":"The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-08-12T12:01:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-08-12T12:01:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, Aug 12, 2015 \/ 06:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Two Colombian bishops indicated on Thursday that while the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, that still doesn't mean they are able to receive Communion &ndash; in an attempt to clarify recent confusion. At an Aug. 6 press conference, Cardinal Rub&eacute;n Salazar G&oacute;mez of Bogota explained that while the divorced and remarried remain part of the Church and are not excommunicated, they are impeded from receiving Eucharistic Communion. The archbishop indicated this after various media reports misinterpreted the statements made by Pope Francis at his Aug. 5 General Audience, in which he discussed the divorced and remarried. Pope Francis had said that the divorced and remarried &ldquo;are by no means excommunicated, and they should absolutely not be treated as such: They are always part of the Church,&rdquo; while adding that &ldquo;such a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament&rdquo; of marriage. Some media outlets focused exclusively on the Pope's words assuring that the divorced and remarried are not excommunicated, and ignored his statement that the situation contradicts marriage. In light of the media's confusion, Cardinal Salazar explained, &ldquo;it cannot be said that Pope Francis said the divorced and remarried can receive Communion.&rdquo; This statement, he added, is nothing new in the Church. A divorced and remarried person, the Colombian cardinal said, &ldquo;is not excommunicated from the Church, rather, they continue to be part of the Church. The Church considers them as a member of her community; but the doctrine is constant and there is no innovation here.&rdquo; Bishop Jos&eacute; Falla Robles, auxiliary of the Cali archdiocese, added that &ldquo;the Catholic Church has never considered persons who are divorced and remarried to be excommunicated.&rdquo; Excommunication is, in fact, a medicinal penalty, and an excommunicated person cannot have a ministerial participation in worship; celebrate or receive the sacraments; or exercise ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions. Bishop Falla said Pope Francis' comments during the General Audience clarified that the divorced are not excommunicated and that they have a place in the Church: &ldquo;they are the sons of God and of the Church &ndash; therefore they should be provided with spiritual care and allowed to participate in the Church's life.&rdquo;","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/the-divorced-and-remarried-cannot-receive-communion-colombian-bishops-affirm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The divorced and remarried cannot receive Communion, Colombian bishops affirm"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11301\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}