CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis in his latest interview reflected on October\u2019s Extraordinary Synod on the Family, dismissing fears of doctrinal \u201ccollapse\u201d while considering difficult topics like marriage preparation and the treatment of divorced and remarried Catholics.<\/p>\n\t\u201cThe prevailing feeling was a brotherly one, trying to find a way to tackle the family\u00b4s pastoral issues. The family is so beaten up, young people don\u00b4t get married,\u201d he said in the second part of his interview with the Argentine daily \u201cLa Nacion,\u201d published on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\tHe also noted difficulties in marriage preparation for young people.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhen they finally come to get married, having already moved in together, we think it\u00b4s enough to offer them three talks to get them ready for marriage. But it\u00b4s not enough because the great majority are unaware of the meaning of a lifetime commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCiting Benedict XVI, Pope Francis said each spouse\u2019s faith at the time of marriage is something to take into account and the Church should give this an \u201cin depth\u201d consideration to \u201canalyze how we can help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPope Francis said many engaged couples focus too much on getting married as \u201cjust a social event.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe religious element doesn\u00b4t surface in the least. So how can the Church step in and help? If they are not ready, do we slam the door in their face? It is no minor issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe Pope also touched on some of the controversies related to the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, such as an interim report that included a synod father\u2019s discussion of the \u201cpositive aspects\u201d of unmarried couples living together and homosexual couples.<\/p>\n
\tPope Francis said this was \u201cjust that, the opinion of a synodal father,\u201d and the interim report was \u201cmerely a first draft meant to record it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cNobody mentioned homosexual marriage at the synod, it did not cross our minds,\u201d the Pope said. \u201cWhat we did talk about was of how a family with a homosexual child, whether a son or a daughter, goes about educating that child, how the family bears up, how to help that family to deal with that somewhat unusual situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said that the relationship of homosexual persons to their families is a reality clergy deal with \u201call the time in the confessional.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe have to find a way to help that father or that mother to stand by their son or daughter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tPope Francis also stressed the need for debate, saying that each bishop at the synod \u201cmust be free to speak up without having to keep anything to himself, though nobody needs to know that he said this or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThere were \u201cdifferent bishops who had different approaches, but we will all move on together,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\tPope Francis responded to fears of a doctrinal \u201ccollapse\u201d by saying: \u201csome people are always afraid because they don\u00b4t read things properly, or they read some news in a newspaper, an article, and they don\u00b4t read what the synod decided, what was published.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe encouraged people to focus on the post-synodal relation and his own post-synodal address.<\/p>\n
\tThe Pope said he is not afraid to follow \u201cthe road of the synod.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI am not afraid because it is the road that God has asked us to follow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI pointed out that we had not addressed any part of the doctrine of the Church concerning marriage,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\tAt the same time, he said the synod is concerned for those who have divorced and civilly remarried.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhat door can we allow them to open? This was a pastoral concern: will we allow them to go to Communion? Communion alone is no solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said the solution is \u201cintegration\u201d of these Catholics.<\/p>\n
\tWhile these Catholics have not been excommunicated, the Pope lamented that sometimes it seems that they \u201chave been excommunicated in fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe noted that Catholics who have divorced and remarried cannot serve as godparents to children, cannot be extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and cannot teach Sunday school.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThus, let us open the doors a bit more,\u201d Pope Francis said. \u201cWhy can\u2019t they be godfathers and godmothers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\tTo concerns about what kind of witness a divorced and remarried godparent will give a godchild, the Pope said such a person can give the testimony of saying \u201cmy dear, I made a mistake, I was wrong here, but I believe our Lord loves me, I want to follow God, I was not defeated by sin, I want to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAnything more Christian than that?\u201d the Pope asked.<\/p>\n
\tHe also pondered how \u201cpolitical crooks\u201d and \u201ccorrupt people\u201d can be chosen to be a godparent.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey are properly wedded by the Church, would we accept them? What kind of testimony will they give to their godson? A testimony of corruption? Things need to change, our standards need to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPope Francis also discussed the controversial Feb. 20 address of Cardinal Walter Kasper, in which the cardinal advocated a change to Catholic teaching that Catholics who have divorced and remarried civilly should not receive Holy Communion.<\/p>\n
\tThe Pope said that four of the five chapters of this address \u201care a jewel.\u201d The fifth chapter concerns the treatment of divorced Catholics who have remarried.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cKasper\u00b4s hypothesis is not his own. Let\u00b4s look into that. What happened? Some theologians feared such assumptions and that is keeping our heads down,\u201d Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n
\tHe said that Cardinal Kasper \u201cmade the first move\u201d and some people \u201cpanicked\u201d and \u201cwent as far as to say: Communion, never. Only spiritual Communion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAnd tell me, don\u00b4t we need the grace of God to receive spiritual communion?\u201d Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n
\tThe Pope said that spiritual communion \u201cobtained the fewest votes\u201d in the synod relatio \u201cbecause nobody was in agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe first part of the Pope\u2019s interview focused on reform of the Roman Curia. He said a difference of opinion is \u201cnormal\u201d and said it is \u201ca good sign\u201d that there is open resistance and not \u201cstealthy mumbling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe also discussed his health, his future travels and his birthday plans, as well as the reassignment of American Cardinal Raymond Burke to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Vatican City, Dec 8, 2014 \/ 04:23 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis in his latest interview reflected on October’s Extraordinary Synod on the Family, dismissing fears of doctrinal “collapse” while considering difficult topics like mar…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
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