The Archbishop of Philadelphia has reiterated that divorced and remarried couples in his archdiocese should live “as brother and sister”.
Archbishop Charles Chaput issued a set of pastoral guidelines for clergy and other leaders in his diocese, which covers 1.5 million faithful.
“Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist,” the guidelines read.
Archbishop Chaput said the new instructions stem from the teachings of Amoris Laetitia, which was issued by Pope Francis in April.
Such remarried couples, and their children, “should be welcomed by the Catholic community”, the guidelines say, and parish priests should “ensure that such persons do not consider themselves as ‘outside’ the Church”.
The guidelines also said that divorced and remarried couples – along with Catholics in same-sex partnerships and unmarried couples living together – should not be permitted to serve on parish councils, instruct the faithful, or dispense Communion.
Such “irregular” relationships “offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community,” the guidelines state, acknowledging it is a “hard teaching”.
The new guidelines also address Catholics “who experience same-sex attraction”. Archbishop Chaput said some such parishioners can still live out a heterosexual marriage with children, despite that attraction. Others in same-sex relationships should avoid sexual intimacy, he said.
The guidelines, posted on the archdiocesan website, were sent to priests, deacons, seminarians and lay people who work in marriage preparation and pastoral care “regarding matters of human sexuality”.
They are believed to be the first such directives from any diocese in the US.
Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, whose name does not appear on the document, was a member of the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the family and is chairman of the US bishops’ ad hoc committee studying implementation of the exhortation.
South Sudan churches fear civil war as clashes erupt
South Sudan’s Church leaders have said they are extremely disturbed about fighting in the capital, Juba, and fear that the country is returning to civil war.
“We condemn all acts of violence without exception,” the South Sudan Council of Churches said, adding it was “time to build a peaceful nation”.
“We pray for those who have been killed, and for their families, and we ask God’s forgiveness for those who have done the killing,” the leaders said in a statement.
“However, we also urge repentance and a firm commitment from all armed individuals, forces and communities, and from their leaders, to create an atmosphere where violence is not an option.”
Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro of Juba represents the Catholic Church on the council. Clashes between forces loyal to the president and those loyal to the vice president spread across the city on Sunday, a day after South Sudan’s fifth anniversary of independence. The outburst was a resumption of fighting two days earlier when at least 100 people died.
“We, the leaders of the churches in South Sudan, are extremely disturbed about the fatal shootings,” the statement said.
Call for US to reflect after Dallas
The shooting of police officers at a protest in Dallas against killings by police “calls us to a moment of national reflection”, the president of the US Bishops’ Conference has said.
“To all people of goodwill, let us beg for the strength to resist the hatred that blinds us to our common humanity,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville. The archbishop described the attack on police as “an act of unjustifiable evil”, saying “police are not a faceless enemy”.
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