Catholic Church must welcome ‘unconventional couples,’ says top Italian bishop

[hrmjustin]

Josephine McKenna

ROME (RNS) The Catholic Church should make “unconventional couples” feel at home instead of making them targets of “de facto discrimination,” the leader of the Italian Bishops Conference and an ally of Pope Francis said this week.

“Couples in irregular matrimonial situations are also Christians, but they are sometimes looked upon with prejudice,” said Bishop Nunzio Galantino, an apparent reference to divorced and remarried Catholics.

“The burden of exclusion from the sacraments is an unjustified price to pay, in addition to de facto discrimination,” he said Wednesday (Aug. 27) in an address to a national conference on liturgy in the Italian hill town of Orvieto.

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/08/28/catholic-church-must-welcome-unconventional-couples-says-top-italian-bishop/

[Starboard Tack]

1. Another refreshing step forward.

The more people like Galant who speak up and address inequality the better. The RCC has a lot of catching up to do.

[hrmjustin]

3. I hope things get better.

[Starboard Tack]

15. I'm sure they do too

If not, they are likely to lose more members. I feel for those members who are sincere, but have little sympathy for the leaders who are rigidly stuck in the middle ages. Exclusivity leads to marginalization. Sound familiar?

[hrmjustin]

16. Yes it does sound familiar.

[rug]

2. There will be an interesting synod soon.

Galantino was Francis’ choice in March to lead the fractious Italian hierarchy, and from the beginning the bishop has adopted the pontiff’s inclusive approach. That has often landed Galantino in hot water, as he has spoken about the need for the church to welcome gays and to consider optional celibacy for the priesthood.

But Galantino has not softened his views, which are especially newsworthy because in October the Vatican will host a major conference of the world’s top bishops, called a synod, to discuss issues facing the modern family.

How to deal with gay and cohabiting couples is a likely topic of discussion, but the question of whether Catholics who have divorced and remarried without an annulment can take Communion has emerged as a focal point of disputes among bishops.

That’s because the issue is a test case of whether the church under Francis will, or can, change its policies relating to the central sacrament of Communion. Some say such a change is impossible, while others say that changes are not only possible but imperative given that so many couples have divorced and remarried and feel alienated from the church.

[hrmjustin]

4. I hope thdy let divorced Catholics go to communion.

[rug]

7. What I find interesting is that if they do admit to Communion Catholics who are having sex outside

a sacramental marriage, there is no basis to exclude gay Catholics who are not celibate either.

[hrmjustin]

8. Yes that would be true.

Interesting times.

[rug]

9. That in turn opens up the whole concept of sin and humanity and the purpose of the Eucharist.

[hrmjustin]

10. Yes and EWTN Catholic will be in an uproar if things get changed.

[rug]

11. The wagons will circle in Irondale, Alabama.

[hrmjustin]

12. Indeed! That Arroyo character will look peturbed.

[rug]

13. You don't want to get Raymond angry.

[hrmjustin]

14. Raymond creeps me out and reminds me of Santorum.

[No Vested Interest]

19. Raymond has a perpetual smirk.

Perhaps the poor guy can't help his looks, but I can zap that channel very quickly when he appears.

[hrmjustin]

20. I know what you mean.

[okasha]

21. The Francis-haters will become extremely agitated.

[hrmjustin]

22. They would never dream of being so hostile to the last two popes.

Shame on them.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

23. As I've said before

The Eucharist is not a reward for being good, it is spiritual food. And denying it to those who may be in most need of it is unchristian. Remember the Parable of the Lost Sheep? Here's Luke 15:4-7

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

The hierarchs who would deny the Eucharist would say, "I've lost a sheep? So what, I've got plenty more."

[rug]

24. I agree. It's not something to be rationed and hoarded.

[Starboard Tack]

17. It will be interesting and could be huge.

There's a lot of buzz on the street in Rome about this. Francis appears to have a lot of support, especially from the flock and the lapsed members of the flock. Catholicism tends to be a strong faith, but lost so many, not due to a lack of belief, but rather a lack of trust in the institution and its hierarchy.

[rug]

18. Really? Keep me posted.

[cbayer]

5. Well, it's not quite as positive as I would like, but it's a start, I guess.

And it's light years ahead of the US Bishops.

[hrmjustin]

6. Yeah I hope the ball gets rolling on this one.

[hrmjustin]

25. kicking.