Divorced Catholics cheer Pope Francis' views on modern family
Annette was 31, living more than 6,000 miles from home with three young children, when she decided she had to leave her husband. "I experienced great violence and the doctors asked me how many times they were going to have to patch me up," she recalled nearly 50 years later. Annette is Catholic, and the Catholic Church frowns on divorce. She said she doubts the bishops in her day had "true understanding of what human relationships were," accusing them of "draconian" decisions.
But on Friday, she welcomed a sweeping statement from Pope Francis telling priests to be more welcoming to divorced Catholics. "The divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the Church," the Pope wrote. "Christian communities must not abandon divorced parents who have entered a new union." The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and writer, called the paper a "groundbreaking new document."
Francis was delivering a kind of a statement called an apostolic exhortation. That's an official statement from a pope urging Catholics to behave in a particular way. Friday's statement is called "On Love in the Family" in English and "Amoris Laetitia" in Latin. The Pope calls on pastors not to "pigeonhole" divorced Catholics but to use their own judgment about how to integrate them into the church.
Vince Frese, a conservative Catholic in suburban Atlanta, called the statement "a breath of fresh air." Frese, 55, a software company owner, divorced 16 years ago after nine years of marriage that gave the couple three children. Once divorced, he found the church and its parishes provided no help to the faithful like him. That, he said, prompted many divorced Catholics to seek acceptance in other Christian denominations. "At the time, there was nothing available in the church that was helping Catholics recover and heal from divorce," Frese said.
Rejection by the church was traumatic for many divorced Catholics. Now, Frese said, the Pope is offering hope and mercy. "He's shining a light in this darkness, and that's a wonderful thing. The Pope is saying we need to help these people, and that's why ultimately I think it's going to help." Frese took the initiative to help divorced Catholics. He developed a program to help them recover, now writes a blog at VinceFrese.com, founded a divorced Catholic ministry at his parish, and co-wrote the book "Divorced. Catholic. Now What?" He said the Catholic Church has underserved divorced people for many years.
Officially, the church considers Catholics who have divorced and remarried without getting an annulment to be in a state of adultery. Francis, however, has already moved to make it easier to get an annulment. Now the Pope is also seeking to influence pastoral behavior without changing doctrine that he cannot change."What he is trying to say is: 'Don't get all focused on the rules, let's be merciful to them and let God work out the details,' " Frese said.
About a quarter of American Catholics have experienced divorce, according to the Pew Research Center, a think tank in Washington; that's slightly lower than the national average of 30% as of last year. Some priests are already acting in line with Francis' teaching.
"If someone is looking for ... a community of welcome and comfort and understanding, it shouldn't be an exclusive community," Annette said. "None of us are perfect. Even bishops."
At: http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/08/europe/divorced-catholics-pope-reaction/index.html
