Roman Catholic Bishop Tobin on changes for divorced people

Support the Café

Search our Site

Roman Catholic Bishop Tobin on changes for divorced people

September 16, 2014
Episcopal Cafe

Roman Catholic Bishop Tobin of the Diocese of Providence RI says “we’ve got to do something about those who have divorced and remarried.”

In October a number of bishops from around the world will meet with Pope Francis in Rome to discuss the “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” A similar meeting in October of 2015 will follow-up on the same topic.

Although the discussion of the pastoral care of the family will be very comprehensive, and probably won’t produce any immediate change in Church law, a lot of the speculation is fixed on whether or not the Church will alter its approach to Catholics who are divorced and civilly remarried and thus not permitted to receive Holy Communion.

…

The challenge for the Church, of course, is how to maintain and proclaim the irrefutable teaching of our Lord Jesus that marriage entails a sacred and permanent bond between husband and wife, while also providing spiritual care for those Catholics who have fallen short of the ideal. The numbers of such Catholics are staggering; most Catholic families, I suspect, have experienced these situations.

Café Comments?

Our comment policy requires that you use your real first and last names and provide an email address (your email will not be published). Comments that use non-PG rated language, include personal attacks, that are not provable as fact or that we deem in any way to be counter to our mission of fostering respectful dialogue will not be posted.

Support the Café

Past Posts

The Episcopal Café seeks to be an independent voice, reporting and reflecting on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican tradition. The Café is not a platform of advocacy, but it does aim to tell the story of the church from the perspective of Progressive Christianity. Our collective sympathy, as the Café, lies with the project of widening the circle of inclusion within the church and empowering all the baptized for the role to which they have been called as followers of Christ.

The opinions expressed at the Café are those of individual contributors, and, unless otherwise noted, should not be interpreted as official statements of a parish, diocese or other organization. The art and articles that appear here remain the property of their creators.